After spending 35 years in manufacturing I decided to work with different environmental groups in Kent helping to look after our natural habitats and species. I have worked various Wildlife Trusts, planting trees, controlling woodland and managing rivers and ponds, this has been a wonderful range of tasks teaching me about our natural environments. I have worked with fabulous teams to create new habitats, protecting and preserving heathland and most importantly making and erecting bird boxes and Owl boxes.

It was here that I realised that many of the factory bird boxes that are mass produced are thin, vulnerable, and flimsy. I would regularly see other boxes that had recently been erected only to find they had completely fallen apart after one year. This was so frustrating!