Last week, I had the pleasure of building a Nest for the children at The Oregon Zoo. Together with about 100 kids, we wove vines, sticks, grasses, and sage to create a large nest that will serve as an installation for the Education Center and will be used as part of the curriculum.

The process began with three days of gathering and organizing the materials from the surrounding area. Then, another full day was spent building and weaving the materials together to form an expression of “Home” and a safe and nurturing place. The kids talked about times when they have built nests, found nests, what nests are made of, and what nests are used for.

And, the best part of the day was when the resident Owl, Kamari, perched on the nest for photos. What a magical experience!

Thank you to the Oregon Zoo and to everyone that helped along the way. Especially, my assistant Kathleen Ayers for keeping everything so organized and being such great helper!

Testimonial

“When I first met Debbie and heard about her project to build human sized nests with the involvement of the children, I realized this would be a wonderful fit for our programming here at the Oregon Zoo.  My thoughts immediately jumped to the Wildlife Way hillside which is located next to our classrooms where we teach camps.  We worked with her to select a location and began to devise ways to have all of our spring break campers involved while supporting the “Beautiful Birds” camps taking place on Friday of camp week.  As the day unfolded, I watched in awe as she and the children built a lovely and intricate nest of vines, grasses, and fragrant herbs.  Culminating a week of learning, this beautiful creation will grace our hillside all summer long and provide many more engaging explorations of nest as home and safe harbor for young and old alike!”

Tom Gaskill, Conservation Learning Program Manager