Trafford Housing Trust Hatches Springwatch fever
[6/06/2008]
Schoolchildren at St Ann’s RC Primary School and Victoria Park Junior School in Stretford, Trafford, will monitor wildlife activity in and around the nesting boxes - as seen on the BBC’s Springwatch programme.
Trafford Housing Trust’s Youth Team has funded the £1,800 project, which will see dozens of nesting boxes placed in the school grounds. St Ann’s RC Primary School has also selected a nest box with a built in camera to allow the children to watch the live action of nesting birds.
The schools plan to decorate 26 nesting boxes each, and the schoolchildren have been invited to take some of them home to use in their gardens.
As part of the environmental project, both schools have also been invited to mount six of the best decorated nesting boxes on timber posts in Thirlmere Avenue Community Garden in Thirlmere Avenue, Stretford. The aim is to encourage children to take part in wider environmental issues, outside their homes and schools.
The decorative nesting boxes and selection of coconut feeders are expected to attract a wealth of garden species from blue tits to nut-hatchers, starlings and wrens.
Thirlmere Avenue Community Garden, which is owned by the Trust, was once blighted by anti-social behaviour but has since been converted into a safe, green haven for wildlife. The attractive site now features rhododendrons, timber decking, planted trees and a patio area for tenants to enjoy.
Hazel Abbott, a Neighbourhood Housing Officer at Trafford Housing Trust, helped organise the project with Claire Rimmer, a Tenant Involvement Officer, John Rogers from Stretford’s caretaking team, and the Trust’s Youth Team Leader David Esdaille. She said: “I was inspired to promote the bird nest project as I’ve always been interested in country pursuits and thought it would be a good way of getting the schools interested not only in their own environment, but also in the community garden itself.
“All children should show an interest in their surroundings and I think birds are a vital part of that environment.”
She continued: “It’s wonderful that the project includes children of all ages from both schools.
“It is also an important part of the Trust’s ethos to involve local schools in wider environmental issues. It’s our aim to encourage the community to take pride in the few green spaces available and we set out to work with the community to develop them further.”
Schoolchildren taking part are being given a small gift of art equipment by the Trust to encourage them to draw pictures of the nesting birds and other nature related drawings. The Trust plans to host an art competition in the summer and the overall winner will have their drawing displayed in Thirlmere Avenue Community garden.