[Bristol-Birds] Children by the waves and BBC helpers turned out for the club's youth project.
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:41:40 -0400
Bristol Bird Club members had their hands full far more than expected Saturday
as they
hosted a continuous flow of children building bird boxes with the help of
members.
Dozens of excited children, with small hands and big smiles, loved every minute.
So did the many BBC members who turned out to make it happen.
Birders Faye Wagers, left, and Wilma Boy
center hurry to sort the pre-cut building
materials as the waves of children could
be seen walking thru the picnic grounds
headed towards their new bird boxes along
with very pleased and impressed parents.
Wagers and Boy had the good help of
Dave Worley, Fred Martin, Carolyn Coffey,
Wallace Coffey and Ruth Clark.
Tom Hunter and Rob Biller led a public birding field trip on behalf of BBC.
Ron Harrington
brought the club's large Mendota Hawk Migration Display which was a hit in the
booth
and display area.
Birders were surprised at the enthusiasm and determination of the little
people as they put their hearts and strength into driving every nail and
were so grateful. Most smiled as they left the BBC project, clutching
their new bird boxes with both arms and most saying thank you.
Parents helped encourage their kids with the more difficult part of organizing
the various panels. Even the smallest hands could swing the hammers with
amazing determination and drive nails far better than we expected. Moms
and dads enjoyed wide smiles and loved every bang of the hammer as their
children went to work. Cameras snapped hundreds of photos.
A news photographer from the Bristol Herald Courier stayed to get photos.
A local television camera crew was there. The turnout of children was so great
that we had exhausted our supply of materials to build 21 boxes during the
morning session.
We broke to have lunch and returned to a waiting group of children who
wanted their bird boxes to build. Nature Center Manager Jeremy Stout
went hunting for more materials and found, in storage, enough pre-cut
bird box panels from a similar project several years ago in order to jump start
the afternoon session and BBC was back in business.
Most of the supervision and organization was carried out by Wagers, Boy,
Worley and Martin who helped child after child get their boxes built. At times
families were sitting on the floor, helping their kids while the tables were
covered with families hammering for next summer's nesting season.
We were not without plenty to eat and drink, including homemade cookies
brought by some.
Parks & Recreation Director Terry Napier and his Recreation Superintendent
Mike Musick visited our box-building project as did Parks & Recreation
Commission Chairman Jerry Green. The were not only pleased with our
effort but Napier asked for a copy of the BBC logo to be used "next year" for
items used during the wildlife weekend.
BBC members were given T-shirts and tote bags during the lunch break.
Bert Hale, a former BBC president, was instrumental in getting a large
supply of hemlock lumber to be donated by a Hickory Tree sawmill operator
who delivered many boards to Hale's workshop. There Bert and other
BBC members were on hand last weekend to spend a full day Saturday
cutting out the panels and making ready for today's success.
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