!!! Some big challenges overcome! A few more to go!
February 06, 2015 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Mark Nash Reports:
February - 2015
Despite our recent successes with regards to finding a new home for the peregrines and gaining approvals to install a new nest box at same, we were faced with a serious of new challenges, (some known, and others expected, and others simply thrown at us out of left field).
After sitting down and crunching the numbers in an effort to come up with the financial resources to purchase more special order composite building materials to build yet a third nest box this spring BEFORE nesting season, (and get it build, delivered and installed in time), it became very apparent that the CPF simply didn’t have the financial resources available given everything else that was currently on plate, (resources already budgeted and spoken for)!
Simply just not allot of time to petition for new sponsors or partners.
It has been a recent new policy for the CPF, that any and all new nest boxes and nest trays that we build and install, (including that of all of the old existing nest boxes and trays that we are already committed to rebuilding and scheduled to replaced over the next two years), will be made out of the new marine composite building material. Some of our original nest boxes and nest trays are 16 plus years old, (and although they have served both the peregrines and us very well, they are now starting to rot and deteriorate and are becoming a liability to all.
While this new composite materials are space-age and revolutionary given their properties, (and in comparison to wood products that we have used in the past for the nest boxes and nest trays), this new composite material is water proof, UV resistant, pre-coloured during its manufacturing process, doesn’t rot and won’t fad,, and, its is really tough!!! Virtually maintenance free in comparison to the wood products we used!!
On the down side,, the composite material is three times more expensive than the equivalent sized wooden board (and twice as heavy)!! It is also difficult to work with, as every hole needs to be pre-drilled and it requires special (rather expensive) screws & fasteners to connect it together the way we build our custom nest boxes and nest trays.
At this point, it became very obvious that we simply didn’t have the financial resources given our current commitments and the fact that you have to pre-pay in full to be able to order this special-order material. And of course, no one has it in stock, (no retailer wants to carry this expensive material in their inventory), so the minimum turn around time is 10 days to 14 days for delivery after ordering the product - and only if they have it in their warehouse!
As we quickly scrambled and looked around to see what we could sell or liquidate in an effort to come with the money to be able to pre-pay and place the order for the building materials,, an e-mail came in from Dale, a member of the Kitchen-Waterloo Field Naturalists, (now to be known as the Waterloo Region Nature).
After several days and several e-mails later, Dale was successful in his efforts to speak with the KW Field Naturalists / Waterloo Region Nature club executive and membership, and I am delighted to say the they came to both our and the peregrines rescue!!!
The club approved sponsoring the funding support that we needed and allowed us order the nest box materials and forge ahead with the project!!!!!
The next big challenge came at us out of left field, (so to speak). Given our existing commitment to build two large nest boxes and a nest tray, (now with the KW nest box added),, all had to be built and installed before nesting season - (historically, less than 4 weeks away). Given the enormity of the three nest boxes, and a huge nest tray, and the sheer size and length of the 12′ foot long composite boards, (and the space needed to undertake such a mass manufacturing project), we had to do the building and manufacturing at the CPF Raptor Centre in Woodbridge Vaughan. While idea given the open spaces in our flight centre, (the barn),, it remains unheated.
Throw in the -20 to -30 degrees below zero, with flesh freezing wind chills, and the vast majority of February was simply tooo cold for even me to carry on with the building. While all of the outer shell of the new nest boxes are of the new composite material, the inside inner structural frames are manufactured out of a more conventional pressure treated type lumber and cedar.
We must then stain this material with a premium commercial outdoor deck type staining.
Well good luck trying to get the stain dried and cured in the - 20 plus degrees temps that we had to deal with during the month of February!! Flash freezing was an understatement!!!
Can you say - “Stain-cycles”,,,, LOL ,,,, I have pictures to prove it!!!
The long and short of it,, a huge disaster timing wise to get any of the nest boxes and nest trays physically built in a timely fashion, but I did get them completed!
Stay tuned…………………
