[T]o celebrate the fantastic birdlife in our region and to encourage a variety of bird species into their community woodland, Oak Tree Animals’ Charity, Wetheral partnered with Carleton Clinic based in Carlisle to offer a Bird-Box making session with their onsite patients. This session was led by Oak Tree Animals’ Charity Community Team alongside a very talented volunteer, John Bell.
National Nest Box Week (NNBW), in its 19th year, is run by the British Trust for Ornithology between 14th – 21st February. NNBW aims to encourage everyone to put up nest boxes in their local area in order to promote and enhance biodiversity and conservation of our breeding birds and wildlife.
Becky Lowis, Community Engagement Supervisor at Oak Tree, explained, “Many patients based at the Carleton Clinic have had pets during their lifetime and love nothing more than talking about animals. As part of National Nest Box Week we wanted to be able to facilitate discussion about animals and wildlife, by making bird boxes that can be put up to provide nesting space, in Oak Tree Animals’ Charity’s community woodland.”
“Working with the Carleton Clinic, provides us with the opportunity to offer advice and practical support to patients who have their own pets and, for those who are temporarily separated from them, to help them prepare for when they are reunited.”
John Bell, who accompanied our Community Team to the Carleton Clinic, enjoys making bird boxes and feeders in his spare time and kindly agreed to create a number of flat pack bird boxes for the patients based at the clinic to put together during the activity session. With John’s guidance, four fantastic bird boxes were created, which will be placed into the community woodland, Blackburn Woods, at Oak Tree Farm, Wetheral Shields.
For more information about National Nest Box Week please visit www.bto.org/about-birds/nnbw
For further information about Oak Tree Animals’ Charity’s Community Programme and how you can help please visit www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk or call 01228 560082
