Young 4H entrepreneurs will build 600 new nesting places for birds in Espoo

Cooperation with the Espoo 4H association combines two goals important for the city: promoting biodiversity and supporting the employment of young people.

“The Bird House Investor training will teach young people to consider the nesting needs of different bird species, to act safely in terrain and to report on their work and what they have learned,” says Saara Suomäki, Executive Director of Espoo 4H association.

The number of nesting sites of many cavity nesters has decreased as the number of old trees and natural cavities has declined. Birdhouses can provide these species with safe nesting places in areas with insufficient natural alternatives.

4H Bird Housing Investors will address the bird housing shortage by creating new nesting places in areas where they are most useful. The aim is to hang 600 birdhouses in urban nature in Espoo between 2026 and 2028.

Anna Hakala, Environmental Specialist at the City of Espoo, is pleased with launching the cooperation. “Bird Housing Investors activities are targeted at species that suffer from a lack of nesting places the most. These include the starling, the willow tit, the house sparrow and the redstart. These species are also found in Espoo.”

Birdhouses will be placed in areas where they are expected to benefit the target species the most. The actors will also monitor how the birds adopt their new nesting places.

The Bird Housing Investors project will train and employ several dozen young people from Espoo. Through 4H entrepreneurship, young people will earn their own money and gain the necessary skills to continue as entrepreneurs.

“Bird Housing Investors will show a practical example of how entrepreneurship can be combined with working for nature. This way, we offer young people an example of how to create a different career path,” says Maarit Viik-Kajander, Senior Planning Officer at the City of Espoo’s Business Services.

During the project, young people will build a foundation for long-term business activities. Entrepreneurs who have gained experience can also offer other services that support biodiversity in the future, such as controlling invasive species or managing traditional rural biotopes.

Bird Housing Investors activities will be launched in Espoo with funding from the Sustainable and Nature-friendly Espoo and Entrepreneurial Espoo (in Finnish) development programmes.

Read more: Lintuasuntosijoittajat(external link, opens in a new window) (4H in Finland, available in Finnish)