Over the next few weeks we’ll be getting to work on an exciting new project – a Minibeast Mansion for outdoors!
You’ve probably heard the word ‘biodiversity’ but perhaps haven’t given it much thought. Biodiversity is the total variety of life on earth and includes both plant and animal life in all its forms, some of which we can see everyday, but also much more which is more difficult to spot. Biodiversity is all living things however grand or small and how all these living things are intricately linked together often in partnerships of which we will never be aware.
Did you know that if the honeybee population was to become extinct, we wouldn’t have many of the resources we have today? As pollinators (moving plant extracts from one place to another), bees play a vital role in making sure natural materials keep on growing. Everyone must help protect our biodiversity – for this generation and those that follow.
So, we’re doing our part and will be building our Minibeast Mansion very soon. We’ve already got the basic structure (see pics below)
But we need your help with the smaller materials to make it work. If you have any of these items lurking in your garage or shed, could you please let your child’s Class Teacher know:
Roof tiles; Plastic and ceramic pipe; Deadwood – sticks and logs of all sizes (up to 1/2 metre long); Logs drilled with various sized holes; Hollow bamboo canes; Bricks and concrete blocks (with holes); Cardboard tubes and corrugated card; Roofing felt; Stones; Straw; Hay; Plastic bottles; Drinking straws; Plant pots; Pine cones
We hope that by Spring, we’ll have some interesting visitors. If we build it, they will come!
At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change. The Convention about Life on Earth
