Three Pigeons Post. Small Group Session Sunday 19 July 2020 'A Hive of Activity'

The Red Army Harry, Oliver, Frances. Monika, Kate. Salwa , JP and Anita were the Mate-ful Eight who managed to complete an incredible array of tasks, all staying way beyond the 90minutes allocated to the task to ensure the Three Pigeons Insect Hotel was assembled and ready for invertebrate guests by the end of the session. I confidently ticked ‘a lot’ when assessing what difference this task had made.

Painting the Chair Red Oliver applied the first coat of red gloss paint to the ‘GoodGym Chair’.

Ash’s to Ash’s Frances worked on the 'Twig' Pallet, creating a decorative perimeter by wedging in 10cm sized discs of ash trunk with a mallet.

The Bees Knees Frances then moved onto drilling holes of between 2 – 10mm into larger lengths of ash log. These will provide nests and ‘nurseries’ for solitary bees. Solitary bees, such as mining bees, flower bees, leafcutter bees and mason bees, account for the vast majority of an estimated 275 British bee species, alongside 26 bumblebees and 1 species of honey bee. Solitary bees have relatively short flying ranges and don’t forage very far so The Three Pigeons Plot will hopefully provide both an habitat and a plentiful source of nectar. https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees

Rub a dub dub, Bamboo canes in a tub We discovered that BOL salad containers (sourced from City Harvest) were the perfect size for pallets. Oliver wedged them around the edge of one of one of the pallets and used a staple gun to secure them in place. he then started the filling process by cutting bamboo canes into short lengths to create a mass of tiny tubes that will provide homes and ‘nurseries’ for insects including solitary bees. It was surprising how many canes were needed to fill a single BOL salad tub so to complete this layer we will need to source a lot more bamboo/reeds or create our own tubes by rolling up cardboard.

On a Roll Monika and Salwa worked on the ‘woolens’ pallet, adding rolled up woolen insulation that Monika had brought along (recycled from old cool-boxes) and carrying on the job of cutting and rolling strips of wool carpet into decorative coils.

Raising the Roof. Kate and Harry worked on turning two black painted bed-boards into a serviceable and solid roof, hinging the two panels together and then adding struts and supports to fix it in place on the top pallet.

The Path to Glory. JP and Anita worked on the area around the bed, clearing weeds that had sprung up around the Three Pigeons wall and river steps. Most rewarding was starting to tackle the weeds that have encroached onto the footpath around the river-side lamp post. We managed to clear a substantial area, despite only having a pair of secateurs and a single weeding tool. The effect was transforming. This is a task that we will be continuing next week with spades and shovels.

Assembly Line. We then carried everything from the Beuccleuch Gardens lock-up to the Three Pigeons Plot and started work assembling the hotel, creating a six story tower of pallets topped with the temporary roof.

The Last Act. Additional materials were added to create the distinct layers: At base level larger stones, broken ridge tiles and paving were added (with dried leaves and other dried plant material to be added later); on the second level red London bricks; and under the eaves terracotta pots and dishes.

An awesome mission.

I think we were all justifiably delighted and proud of our achievement today. Thank you all so much.