Following the success of floating out Tern rafts at Watermead Country Park, Leicestershire & Rutland Ornithological society (LROS) decided to purchase two more rafts to be added to the ones already at Watermead CP, so, in the spring of 2014 I helped a friend of mine, Andy Smith, construct two 'kit form' Tern rafts that had been purchased by LROS. The rafts were made of recycled plastic, and, being a carpenter for my sins, I started wondering how much would it cost for LROS to source the materials and build their own. I broached this subject with Andy Smith and Jim Graham, who are both LROS committee members. They thought this to be a good idea and asked me if I would mind sourcing suppliers and costs etc. To cut a long story short, it became apparent that we could indeed build these rafts for a lot less - but without compromising the quality of the finished product! The Conservation and Education Sub-Committee of LROS are financing the project, and Christine and Graham Middlebrook very kindly offered us the use of their premises at Church Farm to build them. The first three rafts are now well under way, and will be ready to be sited in good time for the return of the Terns in the spring. Below are a few images of us building the rafts.
