Love garden birds, make your own nest box for National Nest Box Week

With the romance Valentine’s Day just around the corner, why not share a little easy green love with your garden’s wildlife and take part in this week’s National Nest Box Week?

With concern over our dwindling garden bird population, the aim of this annual campaign is to encourage everyone to put up a nest box in their local area to promote and conserve our breeding birds and wildlife.

Of course, there are lots of wonderful bird boxes for sale in our local garden centres, some are even made of recycled materials, but being the Queen of Easy Green I wanted to share with you some ideas on how you can make your own, uniquely green nest box, without costing you penny.

The great thing about making your own recycled nest box is that as long as you consider some basic guides, you can make it from whatever you want. For more information check the Nature Detectives.

Some ideas I like use an old boot or a stiff hat, both would make a beautiful rustic nest box. Or if you prefer a more traditional style bird box, why not ask your local joinery workshop if they have any spare wood off-cuts, e.g. plywood off-cuts. Just make sure you avoid any pressure-treated woods, as they will give off harmful fumes.

Another idea that children will love is to make the nest box out of fallen twigs and branches, woven together these make the most natural nest box of all.

The great thing about making your own recycled nest box is that you are not only breathing life back into unused materials that could have ended up into landfill, you are also breathing life back into your garden and environment. By helping our garden bird population thrive, we all in turn reap the benefits many times over. Birds are a gardener’s best friend, they keep bugs under control and most important of all, they bring life and beauty into our world.

Finally, what do you think of this super funky, innovative bird feeder that I spotted, designer bird feeders from Flock-follies . Perfect for small garden birds, they are squirrel resistant and are probably the most stylish bird feeder for the urban courtyard and country gardens.

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