Lincoln's avian population — wrens, chickadees, screech owls and more — will have a bit more real estate to spread their wings this spring.
That's thanks to the Big B.A.D. Birdhouse Project, a new birdhouse-building competition that aims to bring the love of all things ornithology and architecture to Lincoln students — while giving them a chance to show off their creative chops, too.
Students can build their own birdhouses and enter them in a contest beginning in March, with a chance to have their birdhouses exhibited at the Nebraska History Museum later this spring.
The idea for the Big B.A.D. project (B.A.D. stands for build and design) came after the Lincoln chapter of the American Institute of Architects was looking for a way to get more involved in the community. So the group approached Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center near Denton.
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"And we're like, Oh, we've got birdhouses, let's do it!" said Jason St. Sauver, senior education manager at the Audubon center.
More community partners came on board — including Lincoln Community Learning Centers and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, History Nebraska, Art Bus LNK and the Wild Bird Habitat Store.
And Thursday the project launched at Prescott Elementary School, where after-school students like fifth grader Violet Coke used wooden mallets, hot-glue guns and paint brushes to craft their own birdhouses.
Violet, 11, summed up the experience perfectly over the din of students happily hammering away at their creations: "It was loud!"
Coke glued popsicle sticks and twigs to craft her birdhouse, which she hopes can house orioles.
"They're my favorite bird," she said.
Meanwhile, students like second grader Jens Peterson painted their avian homes with bright colors. Peterson chose blue for his house, which will hopefully house some chickadees in the future.
All in all, it was a new experience for the 40 or so students.
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"You want to create a spirit and experience and memories that go beyond just being here after school," said Emily Trauernicht, a community builder with Lincoln Community Learning Centers. "I think we like to provide education for students that doesn't fit into a box."
And the program is a great way to teach students about conservation and the environment, too, said St. Sauver.
"We want people to think about bird habitat," he said. "In the modern world, we're cutting down trees, we've got development that we need and things like that, but we still need habitat for our birds. So this is an easy way to think about it."
Students — like those at Prescott on Thursday — will be able to enter their creations in a contest beginning March 1.
The competition consists of two categories — creative art/design and form and function — and six age brackets for students in grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12, as well as adults and family or club teams.
Birdhouses in the creative art and design category must be built from scratch (no kits or pre-built houses) and may serve just as indoor art or as functional outdoor pieces, too.
The form and function category, meanwhile, focuses solely on usable outdoor birdhouses built with a specific bird species in mind. Birdhouses in this category must be built to withstand outdoor conditions and feature the correct dimensions for the birds they're intended for.
To enter, participants must send an entry form and three photos of their finished birdhouse, a list of materials used and measurements to the email spc@audubon.org or by mail to the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center. Entries will be accepted from March 1 to April 1.
Judges will then pick the winning birdhouse for each age level and category based on a number of factors, including originality, adherence to design category and craft.
The contest also has a conservation component: Designs that use recycled materials — such as barn wood, plastic bottles and shattered plates — or natural materials and paints will earn bonus points.
Winners will have the chance to exhibit and auction off their birdhouses at a First Friday event May 6 at Nebraska History Museum. Proceeds will go toward Lincoln Community Learning Centers programming at the Spring Creek Prairie center.
Other entries may be displayed around Lincoln during the month of April leading up to the event.
For more details and contest rules, visit .
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