How To Make A Bee Watering Station

Creating a bee garden is one of the easiest ways to help bees and other pollinators thrive in your garden or outdoor space. This year, while working on our bee garden for the second season, we came up with a simple bee watering station as a fun nature activity for children. On one of the hottest days of the year, we wanted to create a little sanctuary where bees could stop for water, rest and recharge while visiting the flowers in our pollinator-friendly garden.

The marigolds in our bee garden were grown from our Plant a Bee Garden kit, one of our bestselling children's gardening kits. It's a wonderful gardening project for children that helps them learn about pollinators, nature and growing flowers from seed. The marigolds hadn't quite bloomed when these photos were taken, but they produce beautiful, vibrant flowers that bees love.

To make our bee watering station, we reused oyster shells collected from Whitstable, along with sticks and small pebbles from our garden. If you don't have shells, you can use a large stone or rock with a shallow crevice that can hold water.

How to Make a Bee Watering Station

Push three sticks firmly into the soil and carefully balance your shell or stone on

Next, place several small stones and pebbles inside the shell. Bees are not strong swimmers, so they need safe landing spots where they can drink without falling into the water.

Add water to the shell, making sure some of the stones remain above the surface. This gives bees a dry place to rest while they drink.

Interestingly, bees are often attracted to muddy or mineral-rich water, so there's no need to use fresh, clean water. You can even add a little soil to create a shallow, swamp-like area. On particularly hot days, watering the ground beneath the bee watering station may also provide a cooler, shaded spot for pollinators.

Place your bee watering station close to flowers and refill it regularly, especially during warm

Creating a bee garden is a fun and educational outdoor activity for children and a simple way to support local wildlife. It encourages children to learn about pollinators, gardening and the natural world while making a positive difference for bees. Perfect as an outdoor nature activity, you can get started with our grow your own Plant A Bee Garden kit which contains everything you need to create your own bee-friendly garden. Our kits are also a great gardening gift for kids too!