Bird Nesting Cage Workshop – April 15, 2023

On Saturday, April 15, 2023, 10am-12pm, Free the Fern was honoured to welcome eco-artist, Joshua Ralph, for a Bird Nesting Cage Workshop. The workshop was held at the Kinross Creek Co-op common room building. Four participants were in attendance. Filmmaker, Daniel Akinshola, captured the workshop on film, which he will edit into a YouTube video. This workshop was made possible thanks to funding from the Neighbourhood Matching Fund.

Materials needed:

• dry blackberry canes
• fresh morning glory vines
• glue (superglue or glue gun)
• wool or fur (such as alpaca, sheep, rabbit)
• dried reed canary grass
• twine
• knife
• scissors
• pruners
• ruler

Procedure:

1. Using a knife, scrape the prickles off cut blackberry canes
2. Measure and cut 12 blackberry canes (4 pieces at 15 cm, 4 pieces at 14 cm, and 4 pieces at 5.5 cm)
3. Using glue, stick the blackberry canes together to make a 3-D frame
4. When the glue is dry, wrap and tie morning glory vines around the frame to make a cage
5. Stuff the cage with nesting materials (fur, dried grass, moss etc)
6. Cut a long piece of twine and tie it at the top of the cage to make a hanger
7. Hang the nesting cage in a tree for birds to collect material for nesting