Alanbrooke school pupils make bug hotels with TPE (1)-2

Rooms now available at new bug hotels at TPE North Yorkshire station

Pupils have created bug hotels to encourage insects to stay at one of TransPennine Express’ (TPE) North Yorkshire stations and their nearby school. 

The hotels will be installed at Thirsk station and will attract insects who will benefit the surrounding environment. 

Students from Alanbrooke Academy made the bug hotels from reused timber from Chopsticks, a charity based in Northallerton that supports adults with disabilities to develop new skills in a workshop environment.  

Steve Gilder, Lead Sustainability Manager at TransPennine Express, gave a talk at the school about biodiversity and the importance of caring for local habitats. 

He said: “Bug hotels like these may only be small but can make a huge difference to the biodiversity at our stations. 

“At TPE, we are committed to having a positive impact on the environment – and this is one of the many schemes you can expect to see on stations across our network that does just that.” 

Class teacher Miss Wilkinson said: “Thank you to TPE for their visit, the children thoroughly enjoyed it and have been talking about how great it was all day.” 

TPE also recently spruced up planters at 13 of its stations as part of a scheme to grow biodiversity at the train operator’s stations.   

Plant types differ depending on the local environment and have already started to bloom, providing colour and opportunities for wildlife at the stations.