As part of the Royal Entomological Society’s Insect Week (22 to 28 June), pupils from Ashley Junior School’s Eco Team rolled up their sleeves to build their own bug hotels during a special outdoor learning day. Hosted by family-owned housebuilder Pennyfarthing Homes, the event brought together the school’s young eco enthusiasts and a dedicated ecologist for a hands-on day focused on nature and wildlife conservation. The school is located close to Pennyfarthing’s latest New Milton development, Danes Park, where a strong commitment to ecology and environmental sustainability is at the heart of the project.
The event saw Eco Team members joined by Tom Lane from EcoSupport, who led the children through an engaging and hands-on exploration of the miniature world beneath their feet. From solitary bees to ground beetles, Tom helped the children understand the vital role insects and other invertebrates play in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and how simple structures like bug hotels can make a meaningful difference to local biodiversity.
Each pupil built their very own bug hotel during the session before taking it home to install in their garden, putting their newfound knowledge straight into practice while creating a personal haven for wildlife. The children were encouraged to observe which insects and creatures moved in over the coming weeks and report back to their class, transforming their gardens into living outdoor classrooms.
Four additional bug hotels were loaded up and transported by the group to Pennyfarthing Homes’ new Danes Park development in New Milton, where they will be installed in the gardens of the show homes. The thoughtful addition reflects Pennyfarthing Homes’ wider commitment to weaving biodiversity into every aspect of its developments, from the foundations upwards, and gives prospective buyers a glimpse of the wildlife-friendly living that awaits them.
Sheetal from Pennyfarthing Homes, comments: “We were thrilled to be able to support Ashley Junior School’s Eco Team with this project. Helping each child create their own hotels for insects and watching their enthusiasm was a real highlight. We believe that connecting young people with nature from an early age is one of the most important things we can do, and we hope these bug hotels will inspire a lifelong love of wildlife. Having the children bring two extra hotels to our Danes Park development was a lovely moment too; it felt like a proper community effort.”
Charlie Bartolomeo, Head of School at Ashley Junior School, added: “Our Eco Team is full of passionate and curious young people who care deeply about the environment, and this event was perfect for them to learn from. Tom was fantastic with the children, making everything accessible and genuinely exciting to them. Knowing that every child went home with their own bug hotel to look after has made sure the whole team have an ongoing project to get learn from. We are very grateful to Pennyfarthing Homes for making it happen.”
Tom from EcoSupport, commented: “It was a genuine pleasure to spend time with the Eco Team at Ashley Junior School. The children were engaged, enthusiastic and full of brilliant questions. EcoSupport exists to bridge the gap between developers and the natural environment, and events like this remind us why that work matters so much. Equipping children with the knowledge and the tools to support wildlife in their own back gardens is one of the most important things we do.”
A pupil in the Eco Team at Ashley Junior School said: “It was really fun and I didn’t realise how many different bugs there are and all the jobs they do. I cannot wait to see who moves into my hotel.”
Situated in New Milton, Pennyfarthing Homes’ Danes Park development is a thoughtfully designed collection of homes offering high-quality rural living with excellent local connectivity. A selection of one-bedroom apartments (available through the First Homes Scheme), two and three-bedroom bungalows, and two, three, and four-bedroom houses, the homes provide a wide choice, from first-time buyers and young families to those looking to downsize. Reflecting the housebuilder’s longstanding commitment to sustainability and biodiversity, the development incorporates a range of wildlife-friendly features including bee bricks, bat boxes, hedgehog highways, and now bug hotels in its show homes, creating an environment where community and nature are encouraged to thrive side by side.
