Rush Creek Elementary School fourth graders participate in birdwatchers project

Fourth graders across the district, including in Lois Hehn’s class at Rush Creek Elementary School, recently had the opportunity to learn about birdwatching and make their own birdhouses thanks to a project coordinated by an Osseo Area Schools graduate. 

Karl Erickson, who is a graduate of Osseo Area Schools, is coordinating a project called “The Land of 10,000 Diverse 4th Grade Birdwatchers.” Through this project, Erickson hopes to teach youth the basics about birds and how to create their own feeders to take care of them. Rush Creek Elementary School was the 45th school to participate in the project so far. 

Mrs. Hehn’s class began in the classroom with Erickson, learning more about the importance of birds and how they help our food supply. The students looked at pictures of different birds and listened to their chirping, working as a class to identify them.

The class then moved into a different room, set up as a workshop for them to build their own birdhouses. Students lined up the pieces, hammering in nails to keep them together. Once students completed their birdhouses, they helped other classmates with completing their houses. By the end of the woodworking session, each student had a birdhouse with seed in it to take home. 

“This is my favorite project that we have done all year,” Mason, a fourth grader in Mrs. Hehn’s class, said.