Value Independence set to create a buzz at Bluestone
A group of adults from Value Independence has visited Bluestone National Park Resort, near Narberth to decide on the location for the first of six Bug Lodges that they will build on the resort over the coming weeks to provide a perfect environment for insects, invertebrates, and small creatures.
Value Independence, a group that provides community-based support to adults with learning difficulties and disabilities in Pembrokeshire, is building insect habitats at various points around the 500-acre resort as part of The Bluestone Foundation Bug Lodge Project.
Bug Lodges are large, layered structures made with recycled materials such as wooden pallets, cardboard, old leaves, hollow plant stems, pots, plastic bottles, and rubble. Based on a design provided by the Wildlife Trust, the multifaceted structures will be home to such creatures as bees, spiders, ladybirds, centipedes, and even frogs.
The project is being funded by The Bluestone Foundation, a charitable arm of Bluestone National Park Resort established to help people to help themselves through environmental, economic, and social projects in Pembrokeshire.
Liz Weedon of Bluestone National Park Resort, who oversees the Bluestone Foundation, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to welcome the group from Value Independence to Bluestone and support them in what is a very exciting and important project. The Bug Lodges will encourage biodiversity and conservation as well as providing a point of educational interest for our guests.”
Sam Warden, director at Value Independence, says: “Our members can’t wait to get started on building the Bug Lodges at Bluestone. Not only is this project great for the local biodiversity and environment, but it’s also a quality learning experience for our members, a chance to gain new skills, build confidence and of course, enjoy themselves in the process.”
On Friday the group established the location where they will build the first of the six Bug Lodges and enjoyed a sunny stroll around the lake followed by a picnic lunch in The Village. The group will return to the resort every Friday for the next five or six weeks to complete the project and build all six lodges.
Notes to the editor
The Bluestone Foundation was established to help people to help themselves through environmental, economic, and social projects in Pembrokeshire through the provision of grants.
The Foundation is a charitable arm of Bluestone National Park Resort and underpins the business’s ethos as a sustainable, local business providing employment, economic and social opportunities to the people of West Wales.