NATIVE bees are set for a boost from a joint initiative between Major Road Projects Victoria’s Epping Road upgrade team and Wollert Secondary College.
The team and about 50 year seven students built 10 ‘bee hotels’ at the new college to encourage the growth of bee populations in Wollert.
As Victoria’s seven native solitary bees do not form colonies or hives, the hotels will provide them with places to rest, nest and breed over the cooler months.
Wollert Secondary College learning support officer Brigette Fletcher said the students were excited to work with the Epping Road team on the initiative.
“As well as learning how to design and build a bee hotel, the project taught the students important environmental lessons about the importance of bees,” she said.
“It has given them knowledge they can use and pass on to their families to help ensure bees continue to be a vital part of the environment now and in the future.”
The project team were involved in two sessions on August 3, with the project’s sustainability team briefing students on the project before construction began.
Each of the bee species has a preferred type of home, so the college’s hotels were built with varying internal designs installed on a grassland area, and with north-east aspects to maximise sunlight and pollen production.
To promote a circular economy, some of the materials came from the construction site on Epping Road.
“The students’ interest in the initiative was amazing,” Ms Fletcher said.
“From creating and designing the hotels to the daily upkeep, it gave our school community an opportunity to learn and teach a generation of students new and fun ways to experience environmental learning, which was amazing.”
The upgrade team also gave the students a presentation on sustainability in construction, focusing on the Epping Road team’s goals and innovations.
The Epping Road team’s guide to making bee hotels is available online at roadprojects.vic.gov.au.
The upgrade is set to benefit the college’s community with increased safety and travel reliability to and from school.
The project will add lanes in each direction between Craigieburn Road East and Memorial Avenue. It will also improve six intersections and connections for pedestrians and cyclists.
Completion is due in 2025.
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