Avian Insights & Grassroots Collaboration

Avian Insights & Grassroots Collaboration

The Project NEST Origin Story

Written by Jeremy Petrusma, Ontario Conservation Coordinator
Edited by Madison Chafe, Communications and Administrative Coordinator

February 2025

Have you ever had the chance to look into a bird nest while eggs or live young are present? If you have, I’m sure that it left an impression. Every time we have the chance to view an Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow or Brown Thrasher nest at Cedar Haven the reaction is consistent. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Nature Academy student, a long time supporter or someone’s first time at A Rocha. Intrigue, fascination and awe light up the faces of people who have the opportunity to glimpse into the home of our avian friends. For some of these reasons and others, like declining bird numbers and curiosity about avian life history, we started Project NEST around two years ago.

Project NEST (Nestbox Evidence Stewardship Training) has three main goals which guide our work. The first goal is to provide habitat for bird species that are at-risk or declining in Ontario. This is done through building and installing nestboxes for cavity nesting birds. These nestboxes are homes designed with each particular species in mind. Since different species have different needs this results in a variety of nestbox characteristics. They share some attributes but differ in overall shape, size and diameter of the nestbox entrance.

The second goal is to train citizen scientists to monitor the nestboxes during the breeding season. This is where our partners come in! We look to partner with landowners, churches and schools who have habitat that would host a target species. They agree to check in on our nestboxes at least once a week during the breeding season in exchange for A Rocha providing and installing the nestbox. We host an annual nestbox monitoring training day and provide advice and feedback through our Whatsapp group during the season.

The third goal of this project is to contribute to scientific research by sharing our data with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They have a program called Nestwatch which we submit all of our findings to. This information feeds into a network of volunteers and passionate researchers across North America that are looking to further avian conservation through science and knowledge sharing. 

The original start to this project at A Rocha occurred when around 30 nestboxes were installed at Cedar Haven Eco-Centre around a decade ago. Educational programs would use these nestboxes to teach about avian biology and the conservation staff would collect data on the progress of each nest. As I joined the team as Conservation Coordinator in 2023, there was a sense that we could increase the scope of this work. This led to the idea for creating partnerships and installing nestboxes around the region. Once a framework for the work had been established, we worked to find and create partnerships with those who shared our desire to support local bird species. Today, Project NEST has grown to have 19 partners and has installed over 80 nestboxes for at-risk and declining bird species in our region.

This spring, as we anticipate our second breeding season with active nests on the landscape, we are excited about the growth and trajectory of Project NEST. Our plan is to increase the diversity of species we are supporting and place 30 more nestboxes across our region. We are looking to add more partners to our work who are interested in being trained on nest box monitoring. Are you interested in contributing by becoming a partner to host a nestbox and receive nestbox monitoring training? Reach out to me at on.conservation@arocha.ca and we can talk about the requirements to join! We are also looking for help with things like building nestboxes or connecting us with potential partners. If you know someone who should hear of Project NEST please consider passing this information on to them. One thing that we value at A Rocha is that people and places thrive together and we can’t do this work without you! Thank-you for your continued support and care for the places that we call home.