Recently, students from Nelson Elementary School's ecology club visited 401 Chatham Drive to "install" bird feeders for the property's feathered friends (and a few visiting squirrels).  The students received a tour of the property and were educated on a variety of plant material and instructed on how to identify trees based upon their leaves.  They learned about the importance of protecting our environment and most importantly - not littering!  

Students made their bird feeders from biodegratable items, including pine cones, peanut butter, and cheerios.  Instructions for creating the feeders are as follows:

Pine Cone Bird Feeder

• Find pine cones in your yard.   
• Look for large pine cones with a big surface area.
• Tie a small piece of yarn or string to the top of the pine cone.
• Use peanut butter to spread across the surface of the pine cone.
• Roll the pine cone in bird seed.
• Hang the pine cone in a tree or on a shepherd's hook to attract birds (and some times squirrels).

Cheerio Necklace Bird Feeder

• For this project you can use cheerios or any circular cereal that has become stale.
• Gather a length of yarn and cut one of the ends at an angle and wet the tip slightly.
• Thread the cereal on to the yarn until you have made a necklace.
• Tie the yar in a knot.
• Hang the feeder in the tree for the birds to enjoy.

The great thing about these feeders is that they use items we have around our house that may otherwise go to waste, and they use items that will either biodegrade or can be used by birds to build nests (in the case of the string).