Imagination takes flight with bluebird project

In an artistic celebration of spring, children from Sonoma Valley’s WillMar Center for Bereaved Children will again be painting bluebird boxes constructed by the vineyard crew at Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyard. The unique collaboration allows bereaved children to have a therapeutic and creative outlet while contributing to a project which promotes sustainable agriculture.
“When the children paint the nest boxes, they feel they are building a safe home for the baby birds,” according to Barbara Cullen, program director at WillMar. “This type of therapeutic work is what our program is all about – helping to create a safe, loving home for grieving children.”
Bluebirds are beneficial to farms as they prey primarily on pests, reducing the need for chemicals and pesticides. Gloria Ferrer Vineyard Manager Mike Crumly has been using bluebird boxes – small, wooden houses designed to attract nesting bluebirds – in the Ferrer vineyards for more than ten years.
“Who would have thought that we could find this kind of connection between a local nonprofit for children and a project that supports sustainable farming?” asked Crumly.
Crumly is the Sonoma County Coordinator for the North American Bluebird Recovery Center. “This project benefits the environment, bluebirds, vineyard workers, and, most importantly, the children at WillMar,” said the Sonoma resident and father of two.
The one-of-a-kind hand-painted bluebird boxes are now on sale in the Gloria Ferrer Tasting Room for $30 each, with proceeds benefiting WillMar Center.
WillMar Center for Bereaved Children is a nonprofit designed to serve children and teenagers who have experienced the death of a loved one from illness, accident, suicide or homicide. As an important component of its program, the WillMar Center facilitates art projects to encourage healthy self-expression and personal healing.
The winery hosts a springtime barbeque when the first bluebirds hatch. “The event allows every child to look into an active nest and witness a little miracle of life within,” Crumly explained. “When we can make a connection like this, offering visions of life to children struggling with loss, it’s pretty special.”
Bluebirds are drawn to the boxes because they don’t build nests in the open air. Instead they seek out cavities in trees with small openings, usually created by woodpeckers. The nesting cycle begins early in the spring, when the male claims his territory and tries to attract a female with a warbling song. She lays 4-6 blue eggs, which incubate for two weeks. Within 2-3 weeks of their birth, the young take their first flight.