Looking After Nature

This page is going to capture the ways that we can help nature and what local people are doing.

Bug Homes

Peter Smith and his grandsons have been busy building homes for all the bugs that need our help.

Insects need spaces that are safe from the environment and predators. So just leaving things stacked up whether sticks, logs, rocks or old bricks, provide gaps which are great for different insects. Many bees like to go underground, so the half buried box behind the pile is a bee basement with a slate covering the entrance to help keep the bees all cosy and dry in the box which is packed with straw.

Of course if you build a tower block then you can give lots of insects home in a small area of land. The “Earwigo Hotel” has all sorts of sticks and logs with holes drilled providing privacy for a whole city of insects.

Compost heaps provide space for all sorts of insects to overwinter, with more stick accommodation behind it.

Lets us know what you are doing to help nature.

How did the Toads Safely Cross the Road?

Males toads looking out for female toads on the roads, find that instead they get safely removed from the road on their way to Cod Beck reservoir between Osmotherley and Swainby. The view on the road is great for the male toads, but cars make their chance of survival rather slim, if it weren’t for the dedicated toad patrol who for 2 decades have been making sure that all the toads, frogs and newts get safely across the road.

Osmotherley is a national toad hotspot, you can read about it here or watch the short video below:

Let it Grow

Of course just letting things grow is a great way to help insects to have somewhere to call their own, have a look at our Let Grow page for more information.