In the face of global pandemic it would appear that the health of our ecosystems, biodiversity and particularly our insect life is more important than ever.
This post from 2014 is a reminder of just how simple, and fun creating a little extra biodiversity can be – especially for kids! Check out the links below for additional information on the design and construction of insect homes.
_____________________________________________________________________________
The health of our ecosystem depends to a large degree upon the health of our insect populations. They pollinate our plants, provide nutrients for bird species, agriculture and other macrofauna and participate in the complex web of a resilient eco-system. And yet urbanism and insect habitats struggle to synthetically coexist. Enter the insect house. We don’t see many insect homes in or around the Houston Tx area, but many of our readers live in urban areas where the plight of the local insect population is a bit more dire.
A reader, fan and family member living in Germany has sent in these images of DIY insect homes in her yard and town square. They are a fun and an excellent example of human/non-human coexistence, not to mention an excellent educational tool for children. Thank you for the pics Ellen!
In a similar vein we’d like to invite all of our readers to submit their images of insect homes to: expandedenvironment@gmail.com
More resources about insect homes and urban pollinators can be found at the following links.
https://happydiyhome.com/how-to-build-a-bug-hotel/
http://www.inspirationgreen.com/insect-habitats.html
http://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/content/pollinators-urban-and-suburban-gardens
