Bird Houses

Last year Harrison Park brought in an organization called Elpis Enterprises (http://www.elpisenterprises.org/a/j/). Once again Elpis Enterprises came to the Park and brought a fun project for the kids to attempt. Like last year the project used wood, nails and a power drill to make a birdhouse!

Using the forms to align the wooden pieces.

Elpis Enterprises brings homeless youth together with their communities while teaching them trades and leadership skills. When Elpis comes to Harrison they usually bring 2-3 youth who run the show and work hard.

Sometimes hammering can get tricky!

It's exciting to use tools and pound in nails but sometimes there needs to be a bit on finesse to get the nails to go all the way in. Patience was important as well attention to detail! I was very impressed with how well organized Elpis was and how they were able to troubleshoot any problem that arose!

Finished!

When the birdhouses were finished we got some free seed to feed the birds with a hanger to put them in a tree! I put mine up and within hours the squirrels were all over it! The plan is to cleverly devise a system to outsmart the squirrels. We will see how that goes!

 

 

Winston, myself and Simya

This is my third year working at Harrison Park! It's amazing how quickly these kids grow up and how much Harrison means to them . Harrison is a community park and there is no charge for the kids to be there nor is there a required attendance. The kids come and go as they please. The important part is that they WANT to be there. I have had a blast working with each of them and influencing how they view the world. Simya lives near me and I have really enjoyed seeing her at the park, at the library and at Theodore Wirth this winter!!! She truly takes advantage of the awesome opportunities around her!