Although a rainy Saturday, the Birdhouse City restoration volunteer team along with Quinte Conservation representatives and a member of Council met at Birdhouse City to celebrate newly restored birdhouses.

Over the years the birdhouses have deteriorated and the posts that hold them up are doing the same, becoming increasingly dangerous to fowl and friends of the feathered.

Thanks to a group of volunteers taking home birdhouses and restoring or rebuilding them over the last year, 38 birdhouses were erected back in July. Team members met over the weekend to celebrate and recognize the volunteers and members of Quinte Conservation who were staples in rejuvenating Birdhouse City.

“We’ve had a very exciting year here at Birdhouse City,” said Brian Lackey, lead Birdhouse City builder. “Almost 40 birdhouse repaired or rebuilt, several new birdhouses added, new posts and repaired benches. We have a new formal agreement for Birdhouse City with Quinte Conservation. We’ve made many new friends and fired up a whole new generation of volunteers to work on and support Birdhouse City, and have begun work to help make Birdhouse City more sustainable going into the future. We’re here to celebrate that success.”

On top of thanking the volunteers, Lackey thanked builders, supports, and members of the business community for donating items and equipment.

“I’de like to thank all those builders, volunteers and supporters who are not here, but who have also contributed by building, helping or providing financial and/or moral support and advice and in particular to recognize our major supporters from the business community,” Lackey expressed. “Notably Chris Van Cott from Schoonhoven Landscape Maintenance, who provided equipment to enable us to install our new posts, and Adam Buscher from Picton Home Hardware who provided us with the new posts as well as other building materials and supplies. We also need to thank those folks who sponsored out beautiful new signage program.”

Birdhouse City, which is located in Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area just outside of Picton, has been around since 1980 and use to be home to 101 birdhouses but now consists of upward of 50 birdhouses.

Brad McNevin, CAO of Quinte Conservation and Mya Navrot, Education and Stewardship Coordinator for Quinte Conservation were both present for the event. 

“I’ve been with the Conservation Authority for about 18 years and those birdhouses from when I originally started till now have come a long way, and it’s really about the volunteers that did that,” said McNevin. “The recent work that has gone on with the new signage and the restoration work is absolutely amazing and it makes us as an organization proud to send people here as a destination. We have beautiful trails here but that is sort of historically and currently been a great spot to recommend for people to come and see something unique in PEC, everything from seeing the signage and the birdhouses is absolutely amazing. I would like to recognize my chairman of the board James Flieler and one of our board members Kate MacNaughton for making the venture out here today as well to sort of share in this exciting recognition of what you have done as a community to restore this site, it wouldn’t have happened without you because of all the support you’ve shown so I really appreciate it as a leader at Quinte Conservation the work you’ve put into that to make it look like such a beautiful site so thank you.”

McNevin added that without the efforts of Navrot in terms of connections with Birdhouse City, they wouldn’t be as far along without her.

MacNaughton, a member on the board for Quinte Conservation as well as a municipal councillor for PEC, spoke of how Birdhouse City is such an important place for Picton and PEC.

“I’m lucky to be one of the councillors on Quinte Conservation’s board,” MacNaughton stated. “I was very concerned because I knew the weakening posts were becoming a danger for Quinte Conservation, and they had a serious source of concern for public safety. And you’ve all swooped in and saved the birdhouses and made it a beauty and a joy instead of a liability, hazard and that is such a treasure.”

For more information on Birdhouse City please visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BirdhouseCityPEC

For more information on Quinte Conservation please visit https://www.quinteconservation.ca/en/index.aspx