A lot of schools look like concrete castles surrounded by a sea of asphalt. This can be great for playing B-ball or grinding on your skateboard but not exactly ideal for those wishing for greener pastures. The animals that lived on the land before the school was built probably feel the same way!
So why not invite them back? Just grab a teacher and get started on the invitations! Instead of cards, you’re going to need something a little different. A habitat creation project involves building bat and birdhouses, bird feeders, a native plant garden, or maybe all of these things!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- For gardens: soil, compost or mulch; native plants, shrubs or trees (animals like them to be familiar, so use local plants); gardening tools, gardening gloves, water.
- For bird feeders, bird houses and bat boxes: wood, empty pop bottles, glue, screws, nails, hammers, screwdrivers or a drill, paint, paint brushes, sandpaper, pencils, wooden dowels, wood saw etc.
Getting Started:
- First, you’ll need to decide whether you want to create a spanking new habitat or restore an old habitat and how big it will be (remember, you can always expand on it later).
- Figure out where to create your habitat, and get permission.
- Decide on the purpose of your habitat, for example do you want to create a garden to attract butterflies, or a shelter for birds or bats?
- Make a list of the materials you’ll need and start gathering them.
- You may be able to borrow materials from parents and teachers, or have a fundraiser to raise money for supplies.
- You might also be able to get some items donated. For example, the local gardening store might be happy to give you seeds for your garden.
Garden Projects
- Choose native plants and flowers that will attract the species you want. For example, milkweed attracts butterflies.
- Check out our article on creating a water efficient garden here.
Bat Boxes
- This project is for schoolyards within 400 metres of water, bats need to drink!
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Ask a teacher to help you out. Check out Hinterland Who’s Who for instructions.
Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.
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every body plant a tree
we should raise money for all the animals.
that is soooooooooo sad! I think that taking away animal’s homes is just wrong!:(
we should all care for these animals!!!!
I rased money for ospca
poor animals i feel sorry for them we are destroying the animals properties lets team up and stop the destruction! whos with me!!!
i’m going build some bird houses
I love timber and her friends and I made a whole bunch of stuff and made a assembly at school all about it
i love animals tooo! me and my cousin found two kittens& their parents
their soo cute and this is so sad because a old lady saw one of the poor little kitten in the tree meowing and it fell out of the tree and hit a rock really hard on its back so me and my cousin are trieng to find homes for them
I’m very happy we all decided to help these amazing animals