Earlier this year, Newark and Sherwood District Council launched a birdbox giveaway for primary schools, aimed at engaging younger generations in protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

During Great Big Green Week in June it highlighted the success of the scheme, as part of the campaign’s aims to raise awareness for sustainable changes that help the environment.

Sourced from the RSPB, the bird boxes are made from sustainable, durable timber, so they’re safe for birds and have good insulation properties, making them warm in winter and cool in summer.

They are designed to have the right dimensions and ventilation that birds need, and only use non-toxic preservatives.

Pupils from Bleasby Primary School said: “We’ve seen blue tits and robins and have seen the pecking holes on the boxes from where the males are showing the females they are making a nest.”

Their free bird box has been included in the school grounds alongside the others they have within a quiet garden and their  new wildlife area, which includes a  pond, nest sites, wildflowers for pollinators, an amphibian pit and cave, and bat boxes.

The school also recently planted new fruit trees and hedgerows at their site, donated by the council.

Among the schools to take part was St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Boughton, which added the bird box near their bird lookout hide.

The school said the donated birdbox had complimented the work in the outdoor space, where pupils get to learn all about the wildlife they spot.

Matthew Finch, director of Communities and Environment at the council, said: “We’re really pleased with the response we’ve had from the primary schools so far, and it’s wonderful to be a part of a project that is encouraging younger people and children to have a real interest in protecting our environment, and being proactive in doing so.

“Projects such as this are a brilliant way to get younger generations engaged in the wonders of biodiversity.

“As we’ve had such a positive response we are looking into a giveaway for free bat boxes.”

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