Bluebird nest box project engages area students
Kyle Regeling has been tramping through fields and dodging poop puddles, all in the name of education.
He has been making videos to document the progress of several bluebird nesting boxes he has installed at Not So Hollow Farm in Mulmur, where he works. Regeling invited area schools to participate in the program by decorating the boxes and following the nesting process.
Regeling put out 10 new nest boxes assigned to area schools, in addition to an existing one at Not So Hollow Farm.
Timothy Christian School in Barrie, Pretty River Academy in Collingwood, Primrose Elementary School in Mulmur, Tosorontio Central Public School in Everett and Orangeville Christian School all decorated boxes. Students participating in the program are watching the videos during classtime to see the progress of the nests.
Nottawasaga and Creemore Public School has also been following their progress.
“I wanted to connect people with this project,” said Regeling. Physically, even if students were to visit the farm, they wouldn’t be able to get to all of the boxes because they are too remote and are far apart from each other. I thought this would be a great way to show them the whole process and connect them with the entire cycle.”
Regeling was very excited to discover Bluebird chicks nestled in one of the boxes.
Last week, those chicks hatched, and some of the other boxes were found to have eggs from tree swallows and house wrens.
As not to disturb the nest, he uses his phone to film inside the nest.
“They just sit there all curled up unless you make a little bit of a noise, because they think its one of the parents coming back to feed them. Then they all pop up and start peeping and open their mouths wide. I did end up getting that,” said Regeling.
Watch the videos at www.notsohollowfarm.ca.
Feedback from NCPS
Mrs. Floyd’s Grade 1-2 class:
My students love the videos. They have been enthralled with the project right from the beginning. We have talked a lot about the various types of birds that have built nests in the boxes. What has also happened is, the students are more aware of other birds that they see around and they often come to school with stories of nests and birds they’ve seen around their homes or on family outings.
It’s awesome to see the excitement on their faces when we watch a new update! They especially love it when Lyla the dog makes an appearance 🙂
We’re really hoping to be able to participate next year by decorating a box for the project.
Miss Burkholder’s Grade 3 class:
Our class has loved watching Kyle and his birdhouses at Not So Hollow Farm. We have watched every Youtube episode he has posted so far, following Kyle from the early stages of putting up the birdhouses around the property, to the latest episode where he found eggs in some of the nests. As a teacher, it has been such a cool series to follow, as a media form that most of the students are familiar with and use at home, and also for its ties to the Grade 3 science curriculum. Kyle makes the videos educational, with facts about the bird species around the farm and his general knowledge of the area, and is very engaging and funny, which the kids respond to.
Brennen from our class likes how, “He has a lot of different birds’ nests and he shows what happens to the nests in every video, like if there are eggs or babies.”
When asked what he thought of the videos, Liam from our class said, “I liked when we got to see the baby bluebirds.”
Nigella from our class commented on the fact that, “It is neat that it isn’t just bluebirds, but other species of birds, too.”
As a class, we are very excited to see what will happen next at Not So Hollow Farm. We can’t wait to see the rest of the birds’ eggs hatch.
