Environment: Todmorden in Bloom announces winner of bug hotel competition at presentation with mayor and vicar

Nine-year-old Habeebah Malik, of Ferney Lee school, was chosen of the contest which asked youngsters to design a home for garden creatures.

Todmorden Mayor Tyler Hanley and Rev Catherine Shelley from Todmorden’s St Mary’s Church judged the competition.

Todorden in Bloom sent invitations to local primary school two months ago, inviting children to design a big hotel. They received 234 entries for the contest from six schools.

Shura Price, from the group, said: “The judges were looking for creativity, any unusual ideas, anything imaginative.

"Habeebah’s had a section beneath the hotel specifically for a book case. [It] was quite well annotated [with] lots of detail and explanations about different kinds of insects and an awareness of the environment."

Habeebah’s design will be made by a Todmorden in Bloom supporter and placed in Todmorden’s Patmos garden. Habeebah will then start the process of filling the spaces in the bug hotel with suitable materials, such as dried stems.

Shura said: “It’s a well visited place and will hopefully attract some bugs.”

This summer, Todmorden in Bloom will represent Yorkshire in the ‘town’ category of the Britain in Bloom competition.

The group is due to be judged on July 30, with the winner expected to be announced this autumn.

They will go up against Glastonbury, Upton, Ainsdale and Forres in the prestigious competition run by the Royal Horticultural Society.

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