Local News
Ophir students build birdhouses with local volunteers
![Avatar photo](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/outlaw-partners-46x46.jpg)
![Avatar photo](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/outlaw-partners-46x46.jpg)
Published
1 year agoon
Posted By
Outlaw Partners![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5903.jpg)
By Julia Barton DIGITAL PRODUCER
BIG SKY—Jeremy Harder’s seventh-grade Design Technology class at Ophir Middle School took a short walk from campus to Roger Ladd’s barn on March 8 for a unique, out-of-the-classroom activity: building birdhouses. Ladd and Harder have teamed up on the project for two years, making cedar birdhouses that provide nesting places for both local and migratory songbirds in the area.
Songbirds rely largely on shrublands and sagebrush for their habitat. Development, agriculture and fire have resulted in these landscapes shrinking across the West over the past 30-40 years, according to reports from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Songbird populations are struggling as a result.
“Some of these birds who migrate, specifically the tree swallow and the mountain bluebirds, they’ll be coming back into town in the next couple of months,” Harder said. “When the breeding season comes, hopefully they’ll take advantage of our birdhouses.”
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5887-1024x682.jpg)
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5887-1024x682.jpg)
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5890-1024x682.jpg)
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5890-1024x682.jpg)
Ladd and Grayson Timon, owner and operator of Timon Development LLC, assembled the birdhouse bases before students came to work on them. Students used power tools to add removable roofs to houses—a feature Ladd explained lets students peek inside to check on the birds inside—air holes for ventilation, and a few other final touches.
“It’s a fun way to get out of the classroom and for students to put real life skills into an authentic project,” Harder said. “It’s practice in problem solving and learning how to use household tools.”
The birds are partial to cedar wood, Harder explained, which is more expensive than other wood like pine. Simkins-Hallin, Inc., a building material supplier based in Bozeman, donated enough wood for this year’s project and for a class to do it again next year. That much wood costs about $800, according to Ladd’s estimation. He provides the rest of the materials.
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5884.jpg)
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5884.jpg)
According to student Ella Smith, making the birdhouses is “way more fun than being in the classroom.” She explained that the class did research about the birds that are likely to use their house before starting the construction project.
The birdhouses will go home with students after they’re complete. Depending on the specifications of their parents’ yard and parental permission, Harder hopes the birdhouses will go up at the students’ homes where they can see birds use them. For students who can’t set up the birdhouse in their own yard, Harder hopes to find ways for the houses to be given to other members of the community or placed near local trails.
Ladd has four of the birdhouses set up on his property and recalls opening the lids to see four different species of songbirds—a tree swallow, a mountain bluebird, a black-capped chickadee and a white-breasted nuthatch—inside.
Harder, who has been teaching at the Big Sky School District for over 20 years, is known for his unconventional lesson plans. From taking fourth graders to Yellowstone National Park for a week to incorporating new technology into students’ repertoires, it seems he’s always exploring new ways to teach lessons outside of the classroom. As the middle schoolers followed him back to the school, birdhouses in-hand, it was clear the students resonated with the project.
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5898.jpg)
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/birdhouses-5898.jpg)
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ebs_logo_white_220px.png)
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ebs_logo_white_220px.png)
Upcoming Events
july, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 - July 31Calling all artists and nature enthusiasts! Get
more
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28
EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 – July 31
Calling all artists and nature
enthusiasts! Get your paintbrushes ready for an unforgettable experience at
Paint Under the Big Sky, a thrilling plein air event set against the stunning
backdrop of Big Sky, MT, Chet Huntley’s “The Last Best Place”. Don’t
miss this chance to unleash your creativity and be part of a vibrant artistic community.
What is Paint Under the Big Sky? PUBS is a plein air event for all painters of any ability (over the age of 16). Sponsored by the Big Sky Artist’s Studio & Gallery and the Big Sky Artists Collective, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster a strong community of artists in the Big Sky area, the paint-out hopes to introduce painters to our extraordinary landscape for an opportunity to create, meet and have fun. Plein air painters record our landscape for generations to come.
Artists are invited to travel to Big
Sky, MT to paint anytime between Jun 1 – 28, and participate in the exhibition
and sale of paintings from June 29 – July 31.
Come join us! We have a great
place to paint and are welcoming and fun!
Don’t miss out!
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 1:00 am - July 31 (Wednesday) 11:55 pm
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and
serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the
Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice to
invigorate your day of adventure ahead. Complimentary. Weather
permitting.
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 7:00 am - August 31 (Saturday) 7:00 am
Location
Montage Big Sky
995 Settlement Trail
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 10 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 19 (Monday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 17 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 26 (Monday) 6:00 pm