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12.08.2009
The pupils should work with standard measures (centimetre) by measuring wood and sizes of drilling holes (diameter). The pupils work practically with simple geometric forms, numbering and registration of numbers.
From: Denmark, Skoven i Skolen
Kindergarten to grade 2
Kindergarten to grade 2
Purpose
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The pupils should work with standard measures (centimetre) by measuring wood and sizes of drilling holes (diameter).
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The pupils work practically with simple geometric forms, numbering and registration of numbers.
Preparations
Talk to the pupils about the birds of the forest (and gardens) and about hole nesting birds. These birds nest and breed in holes, like, for example, old woodpecker holes or nesting boxes. You can help these birds by building nesting boxes in which they can breed. Many smaller birds also use nesting boxes as shelters during the winter.
Talk to the pupils about the birds of the forest (and gardens) and about hole nesting birds. These birds nest and breed in holes, like, for example, old woodpecker holes or nesting boxes. You can help these birds by building nesting boxes in which they can breed. Many smaller birds also use nesting boxes as shelters during the winter.
You should calculate how much timber you will use. This depends on how many boxes you chose to build. It is good to involve the pupils in making the calculations. The timber must be bought and brought to the school.
It will be exciting for the pupils to go to the timberyard, as they will both experience new surroundings and can take part of the selection and buying of the timber.
Remember to book the woodwork room of the school, if you don’t have a tool area with carpenter’s benches and tools in the vicinity of your classroom. It will be helpful if two teachers can assist the pupils, as they will be measuring, sawing and hammering!
Also remember to get permission to place the nesting boxes in the forest (or even inside the school area).
What to bring?
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Copysheet of the work-plan and nesting box
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Unplaned boards of Spruce or Pine
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Work-plan and drawing (see below in 'How to do it')
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Pencils and rulers
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Tools such as saws, drills, sandpaper, hammers and nails
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Rope/string and screw eyes
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Steel wire or nylon string for the attachment of the lid of the box
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Waterproof, broad pen for Indian ink or a carpenter’s pen
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First aid box
How long should this activity take?
4-6 lessons for the building of the boxes, two lessons for the placement of the boxes in the forest and as many lessons as you like for observations of life and recording of activities in and around the boxes.
4-6 lessons for the building of the boxes, two lessons for the placement of the boxes in the forest and as many lessons as you like for observations of life and recording of activities in and around the boxes.
How to do it
Autumn is a good season for building nesting boxes and for placing them in the forest. The birds will then have the opportunity of sheltering in them during the winter. You will have proof that your work was well done, and that the boxes were well situated in the forest if the boxes survives possible storms during the fall season. As an added benefit, the boxes will be ready for use when the birds need them during spring.
Autumn is a good season for building nesting boxes and for placing them in the forest. The birds will then have the opportunity of sheltering in them during the winter. You will have proof that your work was well done, and that the boxes were well situated in the forest if the boxes survives possible storms during the fall season. As an added benefit, the boxes will be ready for use when the birds need them during spring.
Let the pupils work together in groups of approximately 4 when they build the nesting boxes. They should all have been provided with a work plan and a drawing of the box, which they should have studied before commencing with the building of the box. Then the different parts of the box must be measured and cut from the boards.
Wood required:
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Board 15 x 2 x 68cm
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front (25cm)
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back (25cm)
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lid (18cm)
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Board 10 x 2 x 72cm
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side (25cm)
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side (25cm)
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bottom (11cm)
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inside lid (11cm)
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Here you can see a copy of a workplan and a drawing of the nesting box.
All edges, especially the ones which have been sawedshould be sanded with sandpaper.
Before you assemble the nesting box you should drill a hole in the front panel. The size of this “flighthole” will specify which kind of bird will prefer to breed in the box.
Diameter of flight-hole for different species of birds:
Blue Tit: 2.8 cm
Great Tit: 3.2 cm
Grey Sparrow: 3.4 cm
Forest Sparrow: 3.2 cm
Coal Tit: 2.5 cm
Marsh Tit: 2.5 cm
Nuthatch: 3.0 cm
Crested Tit: 3.0 cm
Great Tit: 3.2 cm
Grey Sparrow: 3.4 cm
Forest Sparrow: 3.2 cm
Coal Tit: 2.5 cm
Marsh Tit: 2.5 cm
Nuthatch: 3.0 cm
Crested Tit: 3.0 cm
How to assemble the nesting box:
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The first step is to nail the four sides together.
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Then you drill four to five small holes in the bottom of the box, so that rainwater can drain out.
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You must attach a wooden brick to the underside of the lid. This brick of wood must fit into the opening of the box.
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You should then put a nail halfway into each side of the box. The steel wire or a string of nylon will be attached to these nails, and will be used to tie the lid to the box.
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The screw eyes will be attached to the top corners on the reverse side of the box. The screw eyes will be used when you place the box in the forest.
When you have prepared all the nesting boxes you should remember to mark each of them with a number that will be easy to see from the ground. The numbering can be done with either a waterproof ink pen or a carpenter's pen.
Placing the boxes in the forest:
Now you will be ready to place the boxes in selected spots in the forest. If you place a box in a tree you should remember to hang it with a piece of rope, so that you don't damage the tree with nails. Never use nails or steel wire on living trees!
Now you will be ready to place the boxes in selected spots in the forest. If you place a box in a tree you should remember to hang it with a piece of rope, so that you don't damage the tree with nails. Never use nails or steel wire on living trees!
The rope should measure 3 to 4 times the thickness of the trunk of the tree. When you place the box, the rope must be put around the tree-trunk twice. It is important that the rope is loose, so that the tree can grow without the rope damaging the bark. When you have tied the rope you can stretch it by using the box as a weight.
There should be a distance of 10 -15 metres between each box, and the boxes must be placed so that a cat can't reach them! Do not place the box on a branch, as this will make it easy for a cat or another predator to prey on chicks or eggs. The flight hole should preferably be facing East or North, so that the sun won't be over-heating the box.
Recording - keeping an eye on life in the boxes:
You should start keeping an eye on the boxes from the middle of April. Both the Great Tit and the Blue Tit start laying eggs around the beginning of May. There is no guarantee that all the boxes will be inhabited. Note how many of the boxes are inhabited and how many are not.
You should start keeping an eye on the boxes from the middle of April. Both the Great Tit and the Blue Tit start laying eggs around the beginning of May. There is no guarantee that all the boxes will be inhabited. Note how many of the boxes are inhabited and how many are not.
You should follow what is happening in the boxes on a regular basis. Note which kinds of birds use the different boxes. How often do the birds visit the box? What do they bring with them? Is it building material for the nest or have the eggs hatched already, so that the parents bring food for the chicks? Which kind of food do the chicks get?
Pupils that could record how many times the grown-up birds bring food to the nesting box. This could be done in shifts of 10 minutes per person. They can, for example, mark each visit by the birds with a notch in a notebook. Also keep an eye on the weather.
Further processing:
When you have completed recording you should process your material. You could, for example, count how many visits the grown-up birds made to the box in a certain hour during each day that you were keeping watch. Were there differences from day to day? Was the weather different during these days? Compare the number of visits at different boxes, where different species of birds are nesting, and look for similarities and differences.
When you have completed recording you should process your material. You could, for example, count how many visits the grown-up birds made to the box in a certain hour during each day that you were keeping watch. Were there differences from day to day? Was the weather different during these days? Compare the number of visits at different boxes, where different species of birds are nesting, and look for similarities and differences.
Background:
Nesting boxes can replace hollows and holes in trees, and thereby help different species of hole-nesting birds, and they can also be a help to the birds that need to shelter from the weather.
Nesting boxes can replace hollows and holes in trees, and thereby help different species of hole-nesting birds, and they can also be a help to the birds that need to shelter from the weather.
There has been a general lack of old and rotting trees in the forests during the last decade. Modern forestry techniques have often removed such trees, as sicknesses and fungus are readily hosted in them. This has made it difficult for hole-nesting birds to find suitable nesting-places. This is especially a problem for different species of Tits and Sparrows.
With the introduction of new flexible forestry techniques in different forests, other interests besides purely economic ones are also being taken into account. It is now also a priority to make room for balanced vegetation and animal life, as well as for recreational activities. The foresters now let some old trees die naturally from the roots, and these trees decompose slowly and are part of the whole life-cycle of the forest instead of being removed prematurely. The old dying and dead trees attract both hole-nesting birds and many different species of insects that can provide food for both birds and other animals.
