As UK news channels were being bombarded with reports of a new virus, and a few days before our first lockdown was initiated, our family moved from the city to rural Somerset. For our wildlife-loving four year old it was heaven. He could stand on the sofa, eating his morning toast, and watch the birdlife on and around our pond. The abundance and variety of birds and animals we have spotted has been incredible. We have been honoured to host a regal heron, a minuscule goldcrest and even, to our complete amazement, a kingfisher. Our resident moorhens had a bumper Summer and nurtured on three large broods of fluffy chicks. Our son can recognise the sounds of various birds and his knowledge of nature is superb. He has formed a strong bond with a robin who appears almost immediately when he opens the door onto the garden.
This Spring we were sent ‘For the Love of the Environment’ gift box by Wildlife World from Peach Perfect to review. The large box arrived and my son opened it with glee. Inside he found a beautiful handmade Fair Trade Bird Nester. It has been made using natural sea grass and recycled saris, which means that each nest looks different. By purchasing this gift bundle you’ll be supporting the artisan workers in Southern Bangladesh and thereby helping to fund the survival of many women and their families. The nest is a lovely rounded shape with a hole for a small garden bird to use if it so chooses.Next out of the gift box was a small hessian sack full of nesting wool for the bird nest. We used half of it in the nest and left the rest outside for the birds to gather themselves. We did spy a cheeky jackdaw carrying some away for her nest.
The box also contained a packet of ‘no mess’ wild bird food. It is a mixture of lovely seeds with no dust. The seed packet is made of starch and plant fibre, and we added it to our compost pile. We used the seed to make hanging bird cakes by adding the mix to melted lard and then waiting for the fat to reset. We hung them outside our back door and they were well received by the tiny birds, a large squirrel and a mouse that darted around collecting up fallen scraps.
The last item was a conservation guide to garden birds. We read each page carefully and made a mental note of birds we that we are yet to spot. It is wonderful for me that my boy loves birds. My own love of wildlife came from my grandfather and father and I am pleased to appear to have passed the passion on to the next generation of our family.
Eco friendly, educational and Fair Trade the ‘For the Love of the Environment’ gift box from Peach Perfect is a wonderful treat for any budding ornithologist, and their parents!
For more information on this set see online.
