When a child leaves our preschool, after having been with us for 2 or 3 years, they often give us a thank you present. Recently, we received the most original, fitting present from one of our children, a weta hotel for in our garden.
A weta hotel is a block of native wood, ours is made from macrocarpa, with tunnels drilled in it and covered with an acrylic viewing panel. The weta is only found in New Zealand. This native insect is so old, it has outlived the dinosaurs. Weta are large, by insect standards, but some are enormous and are amongst the heavies insects in the world. At our preschool we find weta in our garden, under logs, behind rocks, even in our gumboots!
The children at our preschool enjoy exploring our garden, looking for insects and other crawlies. They find worms, slaters (woodlice), centipedes and all sorts of invertebrates. One of our children in particular loves being outside in our garden. He will spend a long time, with his little spade and magnifier, digging and foraging for insects. It is amazing what he discovers in a morning. We often gather around his “catch”, sharing his excitement about the tiny creatures, and gently returning them into the garden afterwards. How exciting when he turned up on his last day at our preschool with a weta hotel, made by him and his dad. He recently visited the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary with his parents, a great place to take your child. He saw the weta there and that is what he wanted for his preschool. We have placed the hotel near some bushes, as weta are nocturnal. They will hide during the day and come out at night to eat. We are waiting with anticipation for some warmer weather and hoping that they will soon find this luxury 5 star hotel. For now, the slaters are making themselves at home.
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