Earth Day is on April 22. It is a time to protect the Earth and celebrate nature. People mark the holiday by recycling, picking up litter, and more. Show Earth your appreciation by making a bird feeder using recycled materials!
What You’ll Need
• Empty milk carton or jug (cleaned)
• Scissors or a craft knife
• Help from an adult
• Tape
• Jumbo popsicle sticks
• Glue
• String, rope, or twine
• Marker
• Paint and paintbrushes
• Birdseed
Steps
1. Prep the Jug
Wash out a used milk carton or jug. Let it dry completely. If you can, peel the labels off the sides. If not, they can be left on. You will cover them with paint later. Use a marker to draw a door on one side of the container. This is how the birds will peek in! The door should start about 1.5 inches (4 cm) from the bottom of the container. You can make the opening whatever shape you want. But be sure it’s big enough for a bird friend!
2. Snip, Snip!
With an adult’s help, cut out the door. Use scissors or a crafting knife. Be careful! You can create more openings on the other three sides if you want to. News-O-Matic’s bird feeder has openings on three of the four sides. If you are using a plastic jug, the edges of the openings may be rough. Fold some tape along the edges to smooth them out. Duct tape or gardening tape works best.
3. Paint It
Choose a color! Then, paint the entire bird feeder. You may need more than one coat of paint.
4. Decorate!
Decorate your bird feeder any way you want. You can copy News-O-Matic’s “Robin’s Seed Spot” theme to make it look like a restaurant. Ours has an order window, a menu, and more! You may even want to use sparkles, stickers, or other materials too.
5. Make the Ledges
Your birdie visitors will need a spot to land while they chow down. Using the scissors or craft knife, have an adult make a
slit about 0.4 inches (1 cm) beneath one of the openings. Make the slit as wide as a jumbo popsicle stick. Then, cut a jumbo popsicle stick to about 4 inches (10 cm) long.
This is where it gets a little tricky. But you can do it! From inside the feeder, push the rounded end of the popsicle stick out through the slit. Most of the popsicle stick should be poking out. Put some glue around the slit to make sure the ledge stays in place. Repeat this step if you want more ledges.
6. Finishing Touches
Now, it’s time to hang your feeder up. To do that, you need to cut some twine. Then, tie the ends together to create a loop. Unscrew the cap of the carton or jug. Then, lay the string over that opening. Screw the cap back on tightly over the string. Fill the feeder with birdseed. Hang it up — and Robin’s Seed Spot is open for business!
Updated April 20, 2022, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Amanda Salazar
