How To Make Your Bird House More Eco-Friendly
Posted on: 13 November 2014
Are you thinking about building a bird house with your children? Parents and children building a bird house together is a wonderful tradition -- and it can also be a great time to teach your children about sustainability and eco-friendly living.
Build Your Bird House Out of Bamboo or Popsicle Sticks
In the old days, bird houses were almost always made of stored up popsicle sticks -- and that was a great way of directly showing children how to recycle. But, of course, today parents are a little more hesitant to give their children dozens upon dozens of popsicles to eat. An alternative would be to build the bird house out of bamboo. Bamboo is a fast-growing, durable and sustainable material. Even better, it's naturally water-resistant, so a properly built bamboo house would not need to be painted.
Use An Environmentally-Friendly Paint
It may surprise you to find out that not all paints are environmentally-friendly even if they are non-toxic. Many paints have a high amount of volatile organic compounds. These compounds are natural (hence "organic") and not toxic, but they can still be dangerous to birds and the environment. Consequently, you should look for paints that specify that they have low or no VOCs. You should also make sure that any glue that you use is non-toxic and safe.
A Feeder With Plastic Bottles
Do you have large plastic soda bottles around your home? You can create a feeder for your bird house with these lightweight materials. This is a fantastic way to recycle plastic bottles that you no longer need -- and having a feeder next to the bird house will attract more birds. Just glue the bottle to a platform -- such as an old plate -- and then cut a hole in the bottom of the bottle that is about an inch in diameter. Fill the bottle with bird food at the top and cap it. The bird food will pour out of the hole at the bottom slowly as the birds eat the food. You can then tie the bottle next to the bird house.
Don't have the time to build a bird house? There are also many kits for bird houses for sale or just bird houses that are already built. You can still give your children a lesson in sustainability by looking for kids' or pre-built bird houses that say that they were made with recycled materials.
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