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"How are they going to fit in that little hole?" he asked, pointing to the box's circular opening that measured only about 1-1/2 inches across.
Laughing, LowCountry Institute education director Tony Mills assured him the opening was just the right size for many of the area's native birds. Bluebirds, chickadees and great crested flycatchers will be able to build comfortable homes in the boxes this spring, he said.
Whale Branch Middle School received a $2,000 grant through the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control's Champions of the Environments program to enhance the habitat of native birds on the school's campus.
The LowCountry Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides leadership in the conservation and use of Lowcountry natural resources.
Volunteers and master naturalists from the institute will help students grow plants to provide food for the birds and install nesting boxes and bird feeders at different locations across the campus. With the help of their science teachers, students will observe birds as they make homes in the nesting boxes throughout the school year.
"They will really be busy environmentalists over the next couple of months," science teacher Kathryn Madden said.
The campus essentially will become an outdoor classroom, said Kristen Marshall Mattson, an environmental educator with the LowCountry Institute.
"Birds are a nice, easy way for kids to get started studying nature," Mattson said. "As a whole, it will give an appreciation for nature and a desire to find out more about what they see around them."
Students spent Friday sharing a hammer to nail the wooden nesting boxes together. Being outside beats sitting in the classroom, they agreed.
"Bird houses are so awesome," fifth-grader Briana Reid said.
