
Local children, parents and grandparents teamed with the AMA Sportsmen’s Association help wildlife on the weekend.
As part of the club’s youth programming, there were wood duck boxes assembled Saturday morning with volunteers from the association joining local families in putting them together.
AMA Sportsmen’s Association vice president Ken Tytgat said it is an initiative the club has been doing for several years.
“This year, we decided to do duck boxes because it’s been a few years since we’ve done them,” said Tytgat.
Tytgat said they rotate boxes for different species of birds that nest in the area. He said they try to keep things fresh and entertaining for the youth that come out.
Work began earlier last week in preparation for the wood duck box building day.
“We started Tuesday night. We cut it all up,” said Tytgat.
Tytgat added volunteers returned to the club last Friday to further cut the wood into kits the children and their families could assemble.
There were over 20 children that came out Saturday morning but there were enough kits for 42 wood duck boxes. That meant families could build more than one if they chose to.
“If kids want to take them home and put them up in their back yard, they can,” he said.
While the wood duck boxes work well in marshes and near waterways, Tytgat said he lives in Malden Centre and wood duck boxes are still effective there as the ducks still use it to nest.
The club will replace wood duck boxes they have in their 3-D hunting course they have along Lowes Side Road near their building itself. The current ones are decaying and need to be swapped out with new ones.
Building the wood duck boxes gives the youth confidence and helps them learn new skills, he added.
“It’s fun for all of the kids. We enjoy working with the kids. It gives them an idea on how to work with tools,” he said.
Tytgat estimated there were about 15 volunteers from the club on hand to assist. They served hot dogs, pop and chips to the families that came out.
The AMA Sportsmen’s Association is located at 468 Lowes Side Road. For more information, call 519-736-5706 or visit www.amasportsmen.com.
Local children help build wood duck boxes at Sportsmen Club
By Ron Giofu
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