Boxing clever in Lincolnshire to help save UK's barn owls
Nesting boxes for owls and kestrels are set to be housed on some BT premises in Lincolnshire, it was announced today.
Across the UK, breeding barn owls are under threat, prompting two BT wildlife lovers to hatch a plan to put up 300 nesting boxes across the country.
BT employees Peter Justice and Mike Myers formed a team, called ‘Twit to Woos’, of like-minded people from across the business.
They’re using their own time to install around three nesting boxes in each county. Work is already underway in Norfolk and Suffolk, with Lincolnshire and Yorkshire the next locations to be included.
Peter said: “As there are now less than 4,000 pairs of breeding barn owls left in the UK, we feel our contribution, along with the various owl charities already out there, will help reduce the rapid decline in these iconic birds.
“We’re still very much in the early stages of the project but already we’re looking forward to putting some boxes up in Lincolnshire. We’ve not yet decided exactly where the boxes will go, but will be finalising our plans in the coming weeks and months.
“We are also hoping to set up a live webcam. This could potentially spark a huge amount of interest and provide potential educational opportunities for local schools and communities."
The team behind ‘Twit to Woos’ are also helping to create better hunting habitat for owls and kestrels by letting surrounding grassland in some BT locations grow a little longer. They are also hoping to provide wildflower meadows to attract honey bees and butterflies.
Owen Moody, BT’s regional director for the East Midlands, said: “It’s great news that Lincolnshire is one of the first areas to be included in the Twit to Woos programme. Even though BT is one of the biggest companies in the UK, we are committed to running our business responsibly. We do everything we can to protect the local environment we work in and we all hope these nesting boxes are successful.”
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