What is this commitment about?
Insects are irreplaceable for us and nature: as pest controllers, as part of the food chain as well as for pollinating wild plants as well as crops. Unfortunately, they are increasingly endangered by drought, pesticides and the lack of insect-friendly plants.
By placing an insect hotel on your windowsill, balcony or in the garden, you can make life a little easier for the little creatures. Because here they find protection and can take care of their offspring.
The ideal time to set up an insect hotel is spring (March), because you give insects a place to breed. In general, however, you can also set them up throughout the year, since many insects also need a shelter for the winter.
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What are 5-Minute Commitments?
With our 5-Minute Commitments, we want to inspire you to easily integrate volunteering into your everyday life. They are independent of non-profit organizations and allow you to individually get involved for people and nature in your neighborhood.
Buy or build an insect hotel and install it in a place that is as sunny and dry as possible. Ideally, it should be oriented towards the south, as this is where it gets the most sun and heat and is less exposed to the influence of the weather side (north-west). In addition, a food source nearby is ideal - for example, insect-friendly plants or even pest-infested wood that beneficial insects can then take care of. (For more information on choosing the ideal location, see here).
The easiest way to get an insect hotel is to buy one at a hardware store or through classified ads. However, to build it yourself is much more fun and is also a great craft activity with children. You can find instructions on how to build one here at NABU, for example. For more information on what you should look for when building or buying an insect hotel, you can have a read here.
To build the insect hotels, basic craft skills are helpful.
The installation and positioning of an insect hotel is done in a few minutes. If you want to build one yourself beforehand, you should schedule some time, depending on whether you are planning more of an insect motel or an insect palace :)
This project is location independent.
We are a social enterprise from Berlin with a big dream: We want a world in which everyone contributes to a better and more sustainable future according to their possibilities and regardless of time budget, language or previous knowledge. For this purpose, we gather on vostel.de numerous engagement offers from non-profit organizations that are looking for volunteers. By doing this, we show concrete possibilities for action in order to become socially active and would like to motivate above all the younger generations to get involved for a better world.
More about the organisation