BEAT Builds Birdhouses

On Sunday, February 19 a handful of BEAT members headed to the makerspace in the Centre for Art and Humanities to hand build birdhouses. Not just for fun, or to finish an overdue woodworking project, but to help birds in the Cowichan Valley and around campus. BEAT has worked all year on a project called “Home Tweet Home”, an initiative that will help local bird populations thrive in Duncan’s Somenos Marsh and around the Brentwood campus ecosystem. The 25 nest boxes that were completed will allow small birds of different species to have safe homes for winter and nesting seasons. Birds are extremely important members of ecosystems, especially in the food chain and allowing the spread of seeds for new plant growth.  This project was not only great for the environment, but a whole lot of fun to put together! Volunteer members of BEAT got to get hands-on in the makerspace and use power tools and hammers to put together the sturdy new bird homes. A big thank you to bird expert and biology teacher Mr Miller for helping with the nest boxes and creating a biological survey of the birds. Soon you may see some of the nest boxes around campus, and definitely in the local bird sanctuary,a Somenos Marsh: home to many thriving birds! Gina B, Mackenzie ‘17