The number of ‘bug hotels’ seems to be ever-increasing at stations across the rail network.

Following a handful of such hotels being made for stations in Yorkshire last year, children from Lapworth Primary School have built a bug hotel for their local station at Lapworth in Warwickshire.

Situated behind platform two near the station footbridge, the building of this big hotel is part of the ‘Wild Rails’ initiative connecting local schools between Leaming Spa and Birmingham Moor Street, with free environmental education and biodiversity offered by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

Children learn while they build. They gain an understanding of how bugs and insects thrive and the roles they play in the ecosystem while ensuring such creatures are protected and cared for, along with gaining knowledge on what small changes they can make to help nature thrive in their local area.

The bug hotel project at Lapworth has been delivered by Network Rail Central route, E H Smith Builders Merchants, Friends of Lapworth station and Lapworth Primary School all of whom teamed up with The Heart of England Community Rail Partnership (Heart CRP) to make this hotel the first of many not just at Lapworth but between Leamington Spa and Birmingham.

“I’m pleased we have been able to put this piece of land to good environmental use, and what better way to use it than to support the local community, and particularly children with their environmental education.

The land around the railway is home to a richly diverse variety of species and we do everything we can to protect it so we’re really keen to support these types of projects.

We hope students will benefit from this new community area by learning more about biodiversity and the railway at the same time.”

Fraser Pithie, communities manager for Network Rail Central route