DE PERE (NBC 26) — In places where families come to remember loved ones, a flash of blue and the sound of birdsong can offer an unexpected sign of hope.
Volunteers with the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin are installing nesting boxes at cemeteries and other locations across the area, creating a habitat for bluebirds while bringing a little joy to the people who encounter them.
For volunteer Jim Kneiszel, the mission is both personal and environmental.
“A friend of mine passed away a couple of years ago and is buried here,” Kneiszel said while visiting Greenwood Cemetery. “She would really love the idea.”
Kneiszel said he has long enjoyed seeing bluebirds, in part because they have not always been easy to find.
“They’re quite colorful, and you just don’t see them that much anymore,” he stated.
Bluebird populations suffered a dramatic decline over several decades. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, populations had dropped 90 percent by the 1980s, when just 600 nesting pairs were observed in Wisconsin.
The decline motivated volunteers to take action by creating more places for the birds to nest.
“This group got together and decided to create habitat for the birds,” Kneiszel recalls.
Their work is already showing signs of success.
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This summer, volunteers with the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin hatched 15 bluebird fledglings at Unity Hospice in De Pere. Kneiszel hopes those birds will eventually help establish a stronger population in the area.
“Those birds will come back to where they were born," he explained, "so hopefully, over the course of years, they just become more commonplace and people can see them."
The nesting boxes are about more than restoring a bird population.
For patients and grieving families, bluebirds can also represent happiness and hope during difficult moments.
“The bluebirds are known as almost a foreshadowing of happiness,” noted Unity Hospice Executive Director Alisa Gerke.
Those encounters can make a meaningful difference for hospice patients and their families.
“Sometimes, it’s finding that happiness in just the little tiny things in life,” Gerke said.
Volunteers are now working to install additional bluebird boxes at cemeteries across the area and are inviting neighbors to get involved. They welcome neighbors to join the local effort.
