A new community workshop is inviting local people to help create nest boxes for birds, while supporting the wider environmental aims of the Calstock Parish Council: Nature Engagement & Biodiversity Action Plan.

A new local wildlife project is getting ready to take flight, with residents invited to help make and install nest boxes around the parish.

The project is being developed alongside the Calstock Plan, with the aim of encouraging greater interest in the natural environment and finding practical ways for the community to support local wildlife. Workshops will provide a free starting point, but there is plenty of scope for the project to grow and extend into the wider parish.

The first workshop is proposed for Saturday 19th September, from 10am to 12 noon at Newton Farm. Places will be deliberately limited to allow everyone to get involved in making the boxes. Booking will therefore be essential. Free bird boxes will be allocated for suitable sites in the Calstock Parish.

Participants won't need to be expert woodworkers. Andrew Brown will provide pre-prepared kits which simply need to be assembled, based on designs in the accompanying workshop manual. There are four different entrance-hole sizes for different bird species, as well as an open-fronted design suitable for robins and similar garden birds.

The project has been inspired by the idea that relatively small interventions can make a real difference to wildlife. Nest boxes can provide valuable additional nesting opportunities where natural holes in mature trees and other suitable sites are limited.

Andrew Brown Nest Boxes
(Wildlife Watch)

And the possibilities don't stop with gardens and farms. Buildings and sites of local interest could potentially have their own wildlife plan, with places such as Calstock Arts Centre providing ideas for future projects. Workshops could also become a springboard for identifying other opportunities across the parish.

The practical side of the project will be supported by a preparation morning on 18th September, when the kits will be made ready for the workshop.

The initiative also reflects Andrew Brown’s commitment to caring for the planet which echoes throughout his dental practice in Tavistock, extending environmental thinking beyond the dental practice and into the local community.

There is something particularly appealing about a project which combines practical skills, community involvement and care for the natural world. A few pieces of timber, some nails and a couple of hours' work can ultimately provide a home for nesting birds — while helping people look more closely at the wildlife living alongside them.

The first workshop is intended as the beginning rather than the end. If successful, the project could develop into a wider programme of nest boxes and wildlife-friendly initiatives throughout the parish, complementing the ambitions of the Calstock Plan.

An extension of the project will look to reinforce the population of birds that nest in colonies like sparrows, swallows, swifts, house martins, sand martins and starlings.

Places for the first workshop are limited and booking is essential.

Contact Andrew Brown on 01822 617788.