Thousands of birdhouses against oak processionary caterpillar control

WEBO is taking on the oak processionary caterpillar. They produce wooden window frames and prefab elements, and from leftover wood they make birdhouses. The counter now stands at 2,500 houses.

WEBO wondered what they, as a Rijssens family business, could do for society. A suggestion box was hung up and all 120 employees could suggest fun, creative but above all meaningful ideas. The winning idea ultimately turned out to be as simple as it was meaningful: birdhouses made from residual wood left over from production. "We put the question out last year. Right in the period when the problem with the oak processionary caterpillar was topical," Judith Jansen explains. "The knife cuts several ways. We use leftover pinewood, we make the houses together with people with a distance to the labor market, the birdhouses help fight the oak processionary caterpillar and the proceeds go entirely to charity."

Flinty production

The design of the birdhouses came from a project group formed specifically for this project. The houses are custom-made for great tits. Because it is seen as a serious project within WEBO, a special production line has been set up. Two mornings a week, five to six people work on the birdhouses, including three WEBO employees. "Everyone is very enthusiastic. We started during our Open Day last fall. That day, together with visitors, we made 500 boxes that people could also take home. That was a great success. Each morning we now make an average of 200 packages. We have now made 2000" indicates Mannus Haase. WEBO has big ambitions. "Our first goal is 10,000 birdhouses, when we have achieved that we will go for the 50,000." We could easily achieve that because WEBO has invested in a production line. Now just need enthusiastic people who want to fight the oak processionary caterpillar."

The wooden birdhouses can be seen in many places in the Netherlands and Belgium. Among others at various schools, forest areas, care farms and care institutions, the Rijssen product offers a solution against the oak processionary caterpillar. "Also nature organization IVN has our houses. We recently donated a number of birdhouses to elderly centers as a gift because of the current situation surrounding the corona virus," Haase said.

Charities

WEBO will cover the cost of producing the packages. In return, she asks everyone interested in the birdhouses to make a small financial contribution, and these entire proceeds go partly to the Red Cross and partly to local or regional charities yet to be determined. Anyone who wants a birdhouse can send an e-mail to jvelthof@webo.nl.