Travels with Charlie: What’s This at Animal Acres Demo Garden?

What’s This at Animal Acres Demo Garden?

Story & Photos by Gordon Snyder

Charlie and I were walking around Animal Acres path by the Demonstration Garden. I had to stop and check out this new box installed in the garden.

Know what this is? 

At first I thought was one of the park sculptors that make little debris artworks. But when looking closer, there is a lot of “diversity” on each of the shelves.

Hmmm…. I did a little checking and found a wonderful project. Back in the fall of 2024, a unique collaboration between King County Master Gardeners, Lake Forest Park Rotary, and Interact Students and Counselor from Shorecrest High School embarked on creating a pollinator garden as part of the Demonstration Garden at Pfingst Animal Acres Park in Lake Forest Park. 

Efforts to be spent on plants birds & native insect pollinators.

So what is this? It's an Insect Hotel (also called a Bug Hotel or Bee Hotel). This structure was integrated as an educational asset by the King County Master Gardeners to demonstrate eco-friendly backyard conservation practices.

Shoutout to the Volunteers for this Living Ecology Display. Check it out when you can…

Cheers,
Gordon Snyder

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Want a closer look at this?

Here’s what I discovered…

Instead of being random debris from the park, the materials inside the Hotel were carefully curated to mimic the natural wintering and nesting environments required by different beneficial insects at Animal Acres. 

Some suggested details:

• Hollow Reeds & Bamboo Tubes: These create ideal nesting tunnels specifically for native solitary bees (like mason bees and leafcutter bees) which do not live in hives.
• Twigs, Bark, & Drilled Wood: These provide tight nooks and crannies for beetles, lacewings, and ladybugs that feed on common garden pests.
• Terracotta Pots & Bricks: The broken clay pots shield sections from rain while absorbing ambient warmth from the sun, offering a dry shelter for spiders and crawling beneficial insects.
• Wire Mesh Cover: The hardware cloth mesh secured across the front protects the delicate hibernating insects and their larvae from being eaten or torn apart by foraging birds.

Make one for your backyard. Let’s be watching this as the seasons change.

Cheers,

Gordon Snyder