Wildlife Trust hits the jackpot as millionaire army comes to rescue
Lottery winners make, donate and help install boxes in drive to protect nesting birds at Dundee nature reserve,
IT’S not the most obvious of ways for lottery winners to spend their time, but donating nest boxes to help Scotland’s wildlife has been just as rewarding for these bird-loving millionaires as splashing the cash on luxury items.
Jackpot winners Fred and Lesley Higgins, who scooped more than £57 million on the Euromillions in 2018, delivered the handmade boxes to The Miley Wildlife Reserve in Dundee.
The boxes will be installed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust at The Miley and further locations around Scotland.
A further box with a built-in camera was delivered to Kingspark Primary School where pupils will use it to keep an eye on nesting birds throughout the spring.
The Miley is part of a disused railway within walking distance of Dundee city centre. The reserve’s hedgerows, trees and grassland provide a haven for urban wildlife.
Staff and volunteers at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, who created and continue to manage the wildlife reserve, hope the new boxes will quickly attract nesting songbirds.
Ms Higgins said: “Fred and I are huge wildlife fans, so it was brilliant to be involved in building these nesting boxes.
“Making these boxes has been a welcome escape from the long lockdown months and knowing they’re going to a worthy cause has made creating them even more special.”
Fellow winners Jim and Pam Forbes from Tayport, who won £656,000 on the Euromillions in 2017, also visited The Miley to see the boxes installed.
Mr Forbes said: “Pam and I really enjoyed taking part in Operation Nestbox, as we nicknamed it. It was great for us to have something to focus on throughout lockdown and knowing that our endeavours will benefit birds is even better.”
Other winners who took part include Libby Elliot who won over £2m on the lottery in 2012, Raymond Storey who scooped over £1m on the Euromillions in 2014 and Ken and Jannette Wedgeworth from Dumfries & Galloway who won £1m on the Euromillions in 2016.
Teams worked from homes taking inspiration from the Scottish countryside when decorating their boxes.
Chairman of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Angus and Dundee group, Jim Cook, said: “While the birds nesting in these boxes will be unaware they were built by a multimillionaire taskforce, we hope Dundee residents will visit The Miley to take a look.
“We’re so thankful to the winners for their hard work and to the long running support from The National Lottery for the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
“Since its launch in 1994, more than £12.5m in National Lottery funding has helped the Trust to deliver projects to protect threatened wildlife and support nature’s recovery.” Nest box building is the latest volunteering project National Lottery winners have been involved with.
Since the start of the pandemic, winners have pooled their resources to create fresh vegetable planter boxes for schools and NHS workers, as well as knitting twiddlemuffs for people with dementia, making small garments for premature babies and creating Christmas angels for local charities.
Making these boxes has been a welcome escape from lockdown