I had a cunning plan

Hi Observers,

   I did have a brilliant, in my opinion, plan about putting up bird boxes for the micro community of which I am a resident.

   This would also be beneficial for the wider community including children. I gained permission to put up as many as

   was practical, with a stipulation that no screws, nails or bolts would be used which will damage the trees. Fair enough.

   This are 30 established trees in the middle of a village.

   This was in late 2019 and everything was looking good to go to the first stage. Raising funds.

   Then in March 2020 something happened. The rug was tugged from under my feet.

   Fast forward to December 2021. I had to start again. Fortunately I got permission again. That is where I am now.

   So, my reason for tapping into your extensive knowledge is this. What next?

   My initial thoughts were to A) Raise funds to pay for them (the bird boxes). B) Find someone of an organisation to make them (including schools).  C) Put them up.

   Taking it at one stage at a time, as this is a longer term project, how do I raise funds?

   Does anyone reading this have experience of getting money? I will greatly appreciate their help.

   My thoughts are do I establish a not for profit group? A charity? A club? A resident association? Another? How do I do this?

   Can any one of you help or point me in the right direction please?

   Hopefully,

   Hooky.

     

  • A number of our club members worked with both schools and scouts to make the boxes. They made up kits for the youngsters to assemble under supervision and then supervised them to put them in place. This was followed by asking the children to record the box usage. This was in our little area in N Yorkshire but I'm sur other clubs may help in other areas good luck with the project.
  • Hi Seaman,
    Now you have come up with something I had not even thought of. Thank you. I had thought about the construction and also wondered if the birds would be put off by painting them (the bird boxes).
    I would use the village primary school for this.
    Getting them to record usage etc takes it to another level.
    I eventually want to record or stream live action into schools starting with the local primary.
    If you come up with anymore brilliant ideas like this then please let me know.
    Is your local group a charity or a club? I am interested.
    Thank you agin for a massive input idea.

    Best regards,

    John Hook.
  • John, we are just a local bird club,about 100 members but probably only about 30% regulars even in non covid tmes. There was a little bit of funding available from some obscure bit of the local council which went part way to covering materials
  • Hi,
    You have prompted another idea. I will try the parish council or the county council.
    Further investigation underway. Thank you.

    Hooky.
  • Hello John, I'll second Pete's suggestion of schools, the scouts and guides.

    With the scouts and guides, that includes the younger members of those organisations, they will have badges/awards for participating in events around nature and the environment.

    If you have a look at the following link to the Scout Association (the Girl Guides will also have a similar link), you should be able to find the badges for each section relevant to your goal.

    https://www.scouts.org.uk/search?term=badges

    With regard to fund raising, it can become quite expensive, so applying for funds is a good idea.

    Have chat to your local councillor, if you're lucky enough to have a library, have a look in there, and not forgetting the many conservation organisations there are in the UK alone,

    • RSPB
    • Wildlife Trust
    • Woodland Trust

    Just to name three to start with...

    There may a neighbourhood scheme near to the school or even where you live, have a look on social media for litter picks, sometimes members/organisers they are involved with some local conservation activities.

    Also have a search for a local Natural History Society, there are quite a few dotted around the UK.

    Something to keep in mind, many organisations who deal with young and vulnerable people may require you to have a CEOP's or Criminal background check. I'm sure you will appreciate the reasons why.

    Good luck with your venture, and it will be interesting to know how you manage to progress.

  • Love it Mike,
    Great ideas. Seaman posted some fantasic information as well. "The Woodlands Trust" I would never have thought of as the only time I have come across them is "Woodland for Sale" signs.
    The Scouts and Girl Guides merits more investigation which I will do. I will use your link as there was not a Scouts group in my village when I was of Scouts age. Just the B.B. and the C. L. B.
    Also the Natural History line of enquiry, I will admit, had not occurred to me.
    This site is producing the goods.
    I now have somebody who has the technology to make the first five. My eventual target is about 120 with videos in one or two.
    I have been invited to submit a request for a grant. The mind boggles with the hoops I will have to go through.
    Not resting on my laurels I am in contact with the council to see if they are willing to fund the project. Which I think is worthy.
    Further to your request I will keep you posted on my progress.
    You might be able to help with a couple of practical issues.

    A) A bird box design suitable for blue and great tits which is at least squirrel (the grey kind) resistant, ideally proof.
    B) If I get school children to paint the boxes will it deter nesting birds?

    Your thoughts, along with all readers are really welcome as you can tell I have never taken on a project like this.
    Sorry Mike, I do not do social media but I do know neighbours who do "Wombling".

    Best regards,
    Hooky.
  • Don't worry about the social media it was only a suggestion, I'm sure you will come across plenty who partake and no doubt new volunteers will have access to social media.

    I'm pleased we've been of help and its good to see the project getting off the ground.

  • Hi Mike,
    A couple of things here. I have contacted my local RSPB group who have access to social media and will seek help on my behalf. I am a member but have not been able to attend meetings since Feb' 2020. You can probably guess why.
    Secondly I see underneath your name is Flickr. Can you enlighten me? The Peak Rambler I guess is your area of interest.

    Best regards,
    Hooky.
  • Hooky said:
    Hi Mike,


    A couple of things here. I have contacted my local RSPB group who have access to social media and will seek help on my behalf. I am a member but have not been able to attend meetings since Feb' 2020. You can probably guess why.
    Secondly I see underneath your name is Flickr. Can you enlighten me? The Peak Rambler I guess is your area of interest.

    Best regards,
    Hooky.

    I'm pleased you're making headway with your project.

    The link is safe to click on, Flickr is a photo (and video) sharing platform, where you decide the copyrights of your photos, while allowing everyone, or selected people, to see them.

    Feel free to peruse, but I'll warn you, there's a hell of a lot mainly these days wildlife, but pre 2015 a lot from my hill and moorland walking days.

    Sadly, Feb 2015 someone ran a red light while I was on a pelican crossing, which resulted in me requiring major lower leg reconstruction, hence no more hills and moors. While I'm still angry at the driver who put me in this position, I am happy to talk about it, and have turned negatives in to positives, with the help of family, friends, work and of course, the good people here.

    So now I take lots of photos and have some trailcam videos from the garden of the wildlife that visits here, foxes, the occasional badger and lots of birds.

    There are a few on here use Flickr, have a look at theirs as well if you can, there are a lot of good photos out there to view.

  • Some time ago we saw something on the telly about a nature reserve of some sort, possibly RSPB (sorry, it was a while ago!), which had organised exactly such a project, having a school group come in and put together pre-cut bits to build bird boxes. It was a great success and resulted in the children and their parents becoming more interested and involved with nature. While I have never been involved with a project like this, perhaps Pete and Mike will have more suggestions on this, but I wonder if some business such as B&Q, Wickes, or a local independent company, etc. might welcome the chance for a bit of publicity by donating wood or other material and equipment for building the boxes, especially if you can ensure that all or most materials are environmentally friendly and from local, sustainable sources so they could brag about their support for a better world and so on. Good luck with the project, Hooky, and I look forward to further reports.