T3C Guides Girl Scouts In Building Insect Hotels

In February, The 300 Committee’s TerraCorps service member Liam Mertens-Harker worked alongside Robert Porto, an engineering teacher the Lawrence School, and Girl Scout Troop # 77470 to construct four “insect hotels” that will be installed around Falmouth to help bolster native pollinating insect populations.

Insect hotels are structures that provide protective habitat for overwintering insects so they can rest undisturbed until reemerging in the spring. Insects overwinter in various ways, some lay eggs that lay dormant until warming temperatures initiate hatching, while others enter a state similar to mammalian hibernation.

The girl scouts were responsible for measuring and cutting the hotel materials, taking initiative to customize the design of their structures and bring their ideas to life with the support of Robert Porto in the Lawrence School woodshop.

The hotels will be installed to support native solitary bees, ladybugs and butterflies, as well as insects like wasps, dragonflies, and lacewings, that are not as commonly thought of as pollinators. These pollinators support a robust ecosystem, build resilience against climate change and promote biodiversity in Falmouth’s open spaces.

Insects typically overwinter in natural debris such as fallen leaves, pinecones and dead wood, as well as small spaces in man-made structures. Stocked with natural materials, the insect hotels create an undisturbed sanctuary for insects to persist through the inhospitable winter

This spring, the girl scouts will use materials gathered from Falmouth’s opens spaces to fill the cubbies and prepare the hotels for installation.

The installation locations have not been determined yet, but preference will be given to grassland restoration areas, such as The 300 Committee’s Teaticket Park. The goal is to reinforce the existing pollinator populations, resulting in a more successful transition to native grassland and meadow with thriving and diverse wildlife.

So keep an eye out this spring and summer when visiting The 300 Committee’s grassland restoration sites: there will be some new housing available and some native pollinators might be moving in!