Students pledge their support for RSPB Swift Academy

Supported learning students at Walsall College have encouraging people to help local wildlife through some education sessions the hosted at Walsall Library.

As West Midlands Swift Academy volunteers, the students pledged to help raise awareness of swifts, small aerial birds which have faced a 66% decline in population since 1995.

They invited library goers and their families to learn more about swifts and how to help them find safe places to rest and raise their young.

Lecturer, Joanna Powell said: “One of the reasons swifts are at risk of extinction is that there are fewer places available to them to nest.  Through the Swift Academy, we showed people how to look out for these birds and track their flight patterns, create nest boxes and plant flowers to support the insects they feed on.

“Our students worked hard to design promotional posters and other brilliant resources.  Their sessions were an opportunity for them to speak confidently to different people about what they had learned in order to help this endangered species flourish again.”

West Midlands Swift Academy partners include the RSPB, Natural England, BVSC, Walsall Council, Walsall Football Club and the college.