Staplehurst families offered nesting boxes for birds

Submitted by Jane Hainsworth Walsh

Staplehurst residents are being encouraged to create safe havens for birds in their back gardens as part of National Nestbox week which runs from February 14 to 21.

Housebuilder David Wilson Homes is making 30 nestbox kits available for free to families at its Dickens Gate development.

As of 2021, 70 UK bird species were added to the conservation concern red list, which documents wild birds that have seen severe population decline or threat of extinction. The list now accounts for more than a quarter of Britain’s 245 bird species.

To encourage residents at its developments to create a safe home for wild nesting birds ahead of spring, the housebuilder is donating 240 nestboxes to families living nearby to its developments across the south east.

David Wilson Kent will be making three types of easy-to-assemble kits available, all of which are made from sustainably sourced FSC-certified wood. Once put together, the kits can be easily installed in the garden to house birdlife including blue tits, house sparrows, robins, wrens and wagtails.

Natalie Perry, sales and marketing director for David Wilson Kent, said: “As a sustainable housebuilder and longstanding corporate partner of the RSPB, our goal is to create a safe home for nature and humans alike at our developments.

"By installing a custom-made nestbox in their gardens, our residents can take one small step to help protect wild birds in Staplehurst, and allow the population to continue to grow this nesting season.”

Staplehurst families can reserve their nestbox by emailing dickensgate@dwh.co.uk to suggest a time slot during which they can collect the kit, which will then be placed outside of the sales and marketing suite.

Families are invited to share their nestbox when fully built and decorated on social media using the hashtag #MyBDWNestbox.

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