What wildlife garden would be complete without a bug hotel of some sort? Those were are sentiments when we commissioned cob-artist Susie Jenkins of Cobnuts to come up with a unique design for Alresford Rail Station in Essex.

The result, a life-size model of commuters with holes in their eyes, mouths and clothing where solitary bees and other bugs can take refuge and make home.

The cob sculpture was created with input from local school children (from Alresford Primary School), who each made their own bug hotel element, all of which were included in the sculpture, in socially distanced workshops post 2020 lockdown.

This project was part of a wildlife garden project, created in partnership with Essex County Council, Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, Greater Anglia and Cobnuts.

In November 2020, it was awarded The Bees’ Needs Champions Award by Defra.

Find out more about the wildlife garden we created at the station, plus other bee-friendly work we have done there, on our railway station projects page