Nestbox making with The Westminster School - Peter Griffiths

The Westminster School applied for and were successful in receiving a grant from the FSC Kids Fund to fund a residential trip this March to Preston Montford. The majority of The Westminster pupils have very limited opportunities to connect with the natural environment as they are from a deprived urban setting.

On their last morning with us, I assisted Angela (our Education Team Leader) along with teachers from Westminster School in an activity for the children to build their own bird boxes. The purpose of this activity was to help build essential team work skills as well as practical conservation skills. Also we aimed to help raise the children’s awareness of the wildlife that surrounds us every day, and how to accommodate it better. 

After a demonstration from Angela, the class worked in small teams to support each other in making the measurements and using the saws and hammers carefully and effectively. Step by step, working together, they built their bird boxes. Every group finished the activity in time for their lunch and were rightfully very proud of their efforts!

Some of the boxes went back to Westminster school to encourage birds to nest in their school grounds, and 4 were left at Preston Montford to further increase our chances of watching wildlife. We have secured them to trees within our grounds and with a 28mm diameter hole drilled in, we look forward to observing great tits and tree sparrows soon.

Each and every one of the children were a pleasure to work with, and it was fantastic seeing the care and commitment they showed for making their bird boxes as bird-friendly as possible, and their passion for wildlife in general.

Post course, Westminster School sent this update on how the trip impacted them and their wildlife plans for the future.

“Spending three uplifting, interesting and informative days with Angela gave our pupils a real appetite to explore the outdoors in an educational way. Learning new skills such as orienteering, setting humane small mammal traps, fishing, bird box making and many more gave a strong sense of community and engagement between the pupils, noticeably developing their emotion and social well-being. The pupils cannot stop sharing their amazing experiences with everyone.

The pupils have been truly inspired from the amazing experience. Our plans for the near future include: Developing an outdoor learning classroom; having a birdbox enterprise scheme and conservation work at our local nature reserve.”