Protecting nature

Ideally located in Strasbourg, just a few minutes from the centre by tram from the Rotonde stop, the Origami lifestyle urban hotel supports nature. We were keen to install an insect hotel and plant melliferous flowers around the hotel to encourage biodiversity. 

If you're a nature lover, you should know that there are a number of nature reserves close to Strasbourg and throughout Alsace.

Ideas for walks near Strasbourg: Get away, explore and observe the flora and fauna of one of Strasbourg's three nature reserves: the Ile du Rohrschollen, the Neuhof Illkirch-Graffenstaden forest and the Wantzenau and Robertsau forests.

• What are insect hotels used for? Insect hotels preserve biodiversity by helping insects to protect themselves, feed and reproduce. Insect hotels are home to ladybirds, lacewings, osmies, carabid beetles, earwigs and solitary bees.

• Why encourage honey plants? Honey plants are flowers, trees and shrubs that produce large quantities of quality nectar and pollen to meet the food requirements of pollinators (domestic and wild bees, butterflies, bumblebees, etc.).  These insects will come to these plants to collect the nectar and pollen they need to feed themselves, and will spread the pollen from flower to flower as they go, helping to reproduce the plants. Having honey plants in your garden or vegetable patch is a win-win situation. Not only do you feed the bees that pollinate your crops, but you can also grow your vegetables naturally, more easily and without the use of synthetic pesticides. In fact, many melliferous plants are also perfect repellents for certain pests. For example, marigolds and nasturtiums will chase away aphids, and thyme keeps flies away.

• Did you know that 80% of our food (fruit, vegetables, rapeseed, walnuts, almonds, etc.) depends directly on pollinators like bees, butterflies and bumblebees?