Wildlife Project Causes a Buzz of Excitement for School Children

A wildlife competition organised by NPT Homes has created a real buzz amongst school children throughout Neath Port Talbot.

Children at primary schools throughout the Borough were invited to submit designs for a bug hotel for the wildlife garden at the housing provider’s Baglan head office.

After sifting through dozens of entries, the finalists from Blaenbaglan and Crynallt Primary Schools were invited to spend the day bringing their hotels to life with assistance from NPT Homes apprentices.   

After completing their hotels, the winner was chosen, with the design created by Sam and Lohan from Crynallt Primary School coming out on top.

They will now be invited back, along with their classmates for a unique bee experience which will see them don protective suits and taking a closer look inside the bees’ home, with experts explaining how the hives work.

The winners, Sam and Lohan said:
“We really enjoyed building our bug hotels.  It was really fun and we included lots of straw, sticks and bricks with holes in so the bugs could crawl in.  We can’t wait to come back to find out about the bees.”

Kelly Mordecai of NPT Homes said:
“We’ve been delighted with the level of entries in this competition and its’ wonderful to see the enthusiasm the children have for getting involved in this project.  The children really seemed to enjoy their time with us building their winning designs and having them placed in our wildlife garden.”

The installation of the bug houses follows on from last year’s introduction of a hive of bees to NPT Homes’ grounds.  Numbering around 30,000, the bees have proved popular, with staff set to get their first taste their honey towards the end of the year.

These activities are part of NPT Homes’ wider Health and Wellbeing Strategy which encourages staff to adopt a healthy lifestyle and habits.  In addition to introducing both the bug houses and bee hives, the organisation also supports staff through providing exercise classes, pool bikes for recreational use and mental health support.