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Bee hotels are like bird houses for bees. They provide nesting space for solitary bees who normally nest in hollow stems or dead wood. Bee hotels may help replace habitat that is destroyed in the process of keeping a Very Tidy Yard.
Our department’s Chief Science Communicator, Michelle Jewell, had the inspired idea to hold a bee hotel build-along during the pandemic. My husband and I personally cut and assembled 42 bee hotel kits, which shipped out to locations around the southeast! Then kit holders and dozens of other bee enthusiasts gathered for a short webinar (who lives in it, best practices) and build-along (how to make it, led by the NCSU Makerspace).
You can check out recordings of both segments on YouTube (below). The plans for the specific hotel we built are available as a pdf.