It was a bittersweet day in the Saugeen District Senior School (SDSS) carpentry room on Wednesday, June 22nd (2022).
For one of the most popular teachers at SDSS, Bud Halpin, it was not only the end of a project that his students completed, it was also his last as a teacher as he heads into retirement after 22 years.
The project was an environmental one as students built 58 birdhouses for different kinds of birds in addition to two bat houses that will all be installed in Willets Woods on the Bruce Peninsula. The wood was provided by Southampton RONA and the wooded area is being restored by John Willets back to its natural state to include wetlands and, to attract the many bird species, the birdhouses will be mounted on trees throughout the area. Each house has also been numbered so that species can easily be tracked and all have been constructed to open so that they can be periodically cleaned.
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“To say I am thrilled with this project is putting it mildly,” said Willets. “This has been a real community effort with RONA donating the wood and Bud’s incredible students who built the birdhouses and the more difficult bat houses. These students will have made a real difference to the environment and now I can hardly wait to get these houses installed.”
“How do I feel about retiring? I have mixed feelings especially after working with this great class this year,” said Halpin, “but I also wanted to leave on a high note and I want to start travelling.”
