Our Schools Nest Box Program "The Re-Cyc-Ology Project" has finally begun, with our visit to the first school today, Tranby College. If any students want to tell us
about their experience on the day, or what has been using their boxes, please feel free to put
your comments in the section provided below. Just click the 'comments' tab. We would love to hear
from you!
To start with we need to say a BIG THANKYOU to the fabulous, generous
staff at Mundaring Hardware. Last week we were thrilled to receive a
phone-call from Carolyn and Rusty regarding our sponsorship letter to
say the shop was willing to donate various material to help us build
nest boxes with school children, keeping our running costs to a minimum. They happily gave us hammers,
screwdrivers, screws, paint and several other bits and pieces to help us
run the first workshop, and are insistent on providing ongoing support
to our cause. Our sincere thanks to these kind-hearted people.
Today we had the pleasure of working with 24 Year 8 Students from Tranby College, situated in
Baldivis, who were all enthusiastic and had fun with woodworking. We
started the session with some indoor talks, giving background
information about hollow homes in Australian Gum Trees (by Simon), and the
importance of reducing our waste, recycling, and information on how the
students could recycle materials in their area (by Gill). Then we jumped
outside and began the construction!
A
sign overhead told me this activity was going to be a success when I
noticed a pair of my totem Wedge-tailed Eagles, specks in the sky
soaring high above in the distance. Each box was made in kit form, so
the students’ task was (with some helpful hints) to nail a wire ladder
inside the box, assemble the front, back, base and sides, fix the lid
with a hinge, then give the whole box a good lick of fresh paint! All
the groups showed great teamwork skills and the six boxes were pretty
much finished by lunchtime, with some extra keen students choosing to
complete their nest box after the bell, before getting their lunch :-)
In our afternoon session, I gave a tree climbing demonstration while setting up ropes in a massive Tuart tree, situated at the edge of the oval, which (with the students’ help) we had selected to house one of the large Black-Cockatoo boxes. This took much longer than expected: the children learnt some of the difficulties of climbing when fishing lines get tangled up in the canopy! Gill did a fantastic job of explaining all the intricacies of tree climbing while I attempted to untangle his lines - without success - so we returned to the centre of the school and I installed a smaller box instead (see picture below). This one proved much more straightforward, and afterward the students had to rush off to catch buses home (it was now 3:15pm).
In our afternoon session, I gave a tree climbing demonstration while setting up ropes in a massive Tuart tree, situated at the edge of the oval, which (with the students’ help) we had selected to house one of the large Black-Cockatoo boxes. This took much longer than expected: the children learnt some of the difficulties of climbing when fishing lines get tangled up in the canopy! Gill did a fantastic job of explaining all the intricacies of tree climbing while I attempted to untangle his lines - without success - so we returned to the centre of the school and I installed a smaller box instead (see picture below). This one proved much more straightforward, and afterward the students had to rush off to catch buses home (it was now 3:15pm).
Gill and I had a
short break then ‘stayed back after school’ to continue hanging the
remaining smaller parrot- and possum-sized boxes, choosing situations
close to the school buildings where they could be kept under close
watch. We then returned to the big Tuart, which had been beckoning me
from the top of the hill overlooking the school. From high in the tree he
set up a pulley system, and with Gill’s helping heaves we hoisted the
box into position. You can see it in the picture below, about half way up
on the right side of the tree.
As we packed our gear into the car we heard the grating ‘Karaak’ call of some Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, and several birds flew low over the tuart tree containing the new nest box. Was this a welcoming visit to a future breeding site? We sure hope so!
In the meantime it would be up to the Tranby College Year 8’s to keep an eye on their new wildlife homes - and write down details of any promising tenants in the Baldivis area.
Our thanks to Rachael Bullock and Jenny Florence from Tranby College for organising the day. If you like the sound of this and would be keen to have us visit your school, please contact us.
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