The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has teamed up with Kier Group plc to help provide nesting opportunities for birds in urban environments by installing nest-boxes around the Group’s construction sites and offices.
The RSPB, who run Big Schools’ Birdwatch, the biggest annual wildlife survey throughout UK schools, were supported by Kier Eastern to help launch the 2011 initiative. As part of the new partnership’s pilot project, Kier fitted nest boxes around its Houghton Primary School site in Huntingdon.
Kier Eastern has kindly donated RSPB boxes to the school which will provide nesting holes for swifts and house sparrows whose numbers have been declining over the last decade. They use holes under roof tiles, eaves and soffits to build their nests. Improvements in building and restoration techniques mean fewer opportunities are available for the birds to nest. However, there are available alternatives.
The school has really taken the project to heart and a programme of activities has been lined up involving the children monitoring the boxes.
By teaming up with Kier Group, the RSPB wants to send a message to property developers and architects that they can step up for nature without compromising design or build integrity. Internal nest boxes - essentially hollow bricks, are available on the market and can be incorporated into the build at source. While external retrofit boxes can be unsightly and require a level of maintenance to keep clean, internal swift and sparrow bricks are self contained and fit neatly into the fabric of a building, which prevents birds from entering roof spaces or cavities.
Kier is now in the process of identifying other projects that might be suitable for the RSPB to incorporate internal nest bricks for key conservation species in need of help.
The RSPB corporate partnership manager, Martin Sreeves, said: “Kier take their environmental responsibilities very seriously. They have been very generous in giving us access to their developments, and for their financial contribution in making the projects happen. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”
Kier Eastern environmental and corporate responsibility supervisor, Claire Hadley, said: “It is great to get to work alongside the RSPB and assist in protecting bird species that are in decline through investing in bird boxes for our construction builds. I look forward to working closely with the RSPB in the future and to protecting our native bird species.”
