Holton Primary School children working with Halesworth Men’s Shed

 

The children of Holton St Peter Community Primary School have been making bird boxes using kits made for them by Halesworth Men’s Shed.

The bird boxes are to be put up around the school.

The initiative was one of several projects suggested by the school’s Eco Council.

Year 5/6 class teacher Liz Shepherd contacted Alan Furness of Halesworth Men’s Shed, who offered to make kits that the children could assemble in their woodwork class.

“We were supposed to be doing sewing this term,” said Mrs Shepherd, “but we’ll always find time for woodwork.”

She then designed a project around it and produced a plan that other schools could also use.

“Alan was very helpful, as he used to work in schools,” said Mrs Shepherd.

She then worked with the children to vary the design of the boxes, to make them suitable for different bird species.

“We had to decide how big the holes should be,” said Nils, 9. “they need to be half-open for Robins and should have fairly big holes, for Nuthatch”.

The children split into teams, to make up eight boxes.

The Men’s Shed loaned tools to the school, to help fix the boxes together.

The children gained experience using hand tools while assembling the boxes. “The dowels [used to join the parts] often snapped,” said Charlotte, 9. “because people were hammering them too hard”, added Bella, 11.

It wasn’t obvious how long to cut the dowels, so that they fit into the pre-drilled holes in the boxes. “We used paperclips to measure the depth of the holes” said Arthur, 11.

The boxes will be fixed into place by a local builder. The school has prepared instructions for each box, to explain the position and height appropriate for each species of bird.

The children decided not to fix perches under the entry holes, as it can encourage chicks to leave the nest too early and fall to the ground.

The school thought carefully about who the consumer of the boxes really is. They decided that it is the birds rather than humans.

“We were lucky to be able to focus on what the birds need and not have to worry about making something that humans want to buy.” said Mrs Shepherd.

“Although humans have to be considered when thinking about how the boxes are opened [for cleaning], closed and secured” added Mr Furness.

The school spent time thinking about the best materials to use. They chose not to use metal, because it’s more difficult to work with and would heat up too much in sunny weather. Unpainted wood made the most sense.

The children really enjoyed the project, which is likely to be repeated in two years’ time, when there will be a new cohort at the school.

Other schools that are interested in the project can contact Mrs Shepherd for details. Project materials will be available for download from the school’s website.

(c) Jez Donaldson June 2024

Edited version reprinted in Beccles & Bungay Journal