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Girl Scouts Save Bluebirds at GM Plant

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Unfortunately, the United States’ bluebird population has been in decline for a number of reasons. Among them are forest clearings and competition from other birds to claim nests. While at times it seems like there is little that we as individuals can do, the Girl Scouts have recently proven otherwise.

Girl Scouts Save Bluebirds at GM Plant

Girl Scouts Save Bluebirds at GM Plant

Reportedly, Kelly Peters, one of GM’s environmental engineers, brought in a troop of Girl Scouts to the Wentzville Assembly plant in Missouri, to construct bluebird nesting boxes to earn their Bronze award. These nesting boxes are vital to bluebirds, which prefer to nest up high (like in trees) to gain vantage points for feeding on the insects that live on the ground. Trees, however, are disappearing left and right, so these nesting boxes are their next best option. (GM has some of these at its Milford Proving Ground location as well.)

 

To earn the Bronze award, Girl Scouts must learn more about their own communities and choose a project that can benefit them. Peters recognized the problem faced by these bluebirds and passed it along to the girls, who were more than happy to help.

“We built 20 nesting boxes out of cedar over the course of two days, and the girls each took one home  with them,” said Peters in a Fast Lane blog. “One girl found a bird inhabited her nest almost immediately.”

The remainder of the nesting boxes headed back to Wentzville Assembly, which is in the process of earning wildlife certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council. In total, General Motors has 26 wildlife habitat programs certified by the council around the world, more than any other automaker. Reportedly, 26 percent of the land mass within these sites is wildlife habitat that is actively managed and preserved.