During the last couple of years, we’ve done some really interesting stuff including planting a bee garden, making seed bombs, educating the public about the importance of bees and even making a short film! I really enjoy spending time with like minded people and have made a nice group of friends. For me though, aside from the hot chocolate & biscuits, the best bits of Rangers is doing practical stuff - particularly working with wood as woodcraft is a hobby of mine.
Last Spring we started making bird boxes but unfortunately, the company who usually supplied the kits couldn’t anymore - we didn’t let that put us off though and we started to hand saw them instead! We managed to do most of them but ran out of time to cut the roofs so I offered to take them home and cut the remaining bits with my bandsaw! Just before Christmas my mum got an email from our leader, Diane, asking if I’d like to make the bird box kits for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and I jumped at the chance!
I’ve really enjoyed doing this and have learnt a lot about sourcing supplies, making estimates, trialling designs and making jigs to accurately pre-drill the holes for the nails. I’ve made around 50 kits now. I’m really grateful for the opportunity Diane & the Wildlife Trust have given me - I hope people enjoy making the kits into bird boxes!
