Make a minibeast home

Get creative and teach children how to show kindness to our planet's small animals by providing them with a place to live.

Children will learn more about the small creatures we live with every day, and help them by creating a 'minibeast' home. This DIY project only requires a handful of items and will serve as a home for local lacewings and solitary bees.

What you will need:

• A collection of hollow bamboo or twigs (Buddleia stems are good!) A container such as an old, cleaned coffee tin, or a sturdy clay flower pot (you will need to block the holes).
• 
  You could also use a clean, plastic cup.
• A handful of modelling clay
• Some strong string
• Sticky tape
• Scissors

How to make your minibeast home

Step one: Attach the string tightly to the side of the container. You can tie it around the outside of the container or make a hole in one side of the container and thread the string through a knot on the inside. Next, add sticky tape to make sure the string is tied on tight.

Step two: Cover the inside bottom of the container with modelling clay, this part's important!

Step three: Cut the hollow sticks slightly shorter than the height of the container and push them into the clay at the bottom of the container. Keep adding sticks until the container is full.

Step four: Now all you need is a tree or a post to hand your minibeast home from. Make sure that the container faces south and that it hangs on its side in full sunlight. The open end of the container needs to slope down slightly when hanging up to stop the lacewings and bees from getting wet.

Step five: Watch as minibeast move in and enjoy the new home you have kindly made for them! Always remember to dispose of the container carefully when it is no longer any use.