Conservation is not something that the everyday Bermudian thinks about all that much.

Sure, we all know that we live in a small part of the world that has been blessed with astounding natural beauty, but most of us just don't have the time to sit and reflect on our natural surroundings. Maybe that's because most of us didn't attend St. David's Primary School.

You see, way down East, situated just to the left of the lower entrance to the Lord's Cricket ground, sits an institution of elementary education that is restoring a love of nature that has been fading for decades now.

For roughly 30 years, the students and faculty of the little community-oriented school have been tackling a very pertinent conservation issue; the significant decline of the Bluebird population.

Local lore has it that once ago, farmers would observe flocks of Bluebirds in excess of 200 scouring the countryside, perching on the grand Cedars and basically making the place even more beautiful than it already was.

Then came the catastrophic Cedar blight of the early twentieth century, killing all but a handful of our beloved trees, and robbing the Bluebirds of valuable nesting grounds.

Edward Wright, principal of St. David's Primary, estimates that today, the bluebird population across the entire Island stands at about 600 pairs (1,200 birds), a far cry from the numbers they enjoyed so many years ago.

Even that number has been greatly aided by the efforts of Mr. Wright and his pupils over the last few decades, and especially by the efforts of two nine-year-olds whom I had the tremendous pleasure of meeting recently.

Nikhil Hassell is the National Trust's reigning `Young Conservationist Of The Year', having won the prestigious David Wingate Award for his efforts on the Bluebird trail last year. Jessica Rains is the `Robin' to Nikhil's `Batman', filling in all the gaps he misses, and adding a passion for conservation that is very rarely seen in a child so young.

So what does this project actually involve? A good question, and in the absence of Nikhil and Jessica to blow you away with their energy and verve, I guess I'll have to explain in my passionless, jaded way (I joke! Why you no laugh?).

The Bluebird trail is homemade nest boxes that the team has put up to assist the Bluebirds in their search for a safe nesting ground. At the moment, the trail consists of ten nests that have been placed approximately 100 yards away from each other on the grounds behind the school and on a small section of the former Baselands.

Over the years the school has sent teams out to monitor these boxes, making sure that nothing has bothered them, that they have been used, or that they are in good shape.

The boxes have traditionally been made from Calabashes, which Mr. Wright has been getting from a tree in Hamilton Parish for years. The team dries the gourds, scoops out the insides (including the perfectly heart-shaped seed), and drills small holes in the shell. The process is very scientific, and there is a reason for every single adjustment.

Nikhil explained that the holes in the top of the gourd are for the wire to go through so that the team can attach the box to a suitable object, the holes in the bottom are for drainage, so that the nests don't get flooded, and the hole in the middle must be exactly one and a half inches in diameter because if it's any bigger, Sparrows will occupy the box, or worse, invade it and kill the Bluebird occupants.

The children also explained about the Sparrow threat, and the many measures the team have implemented to combat that very significant menace.

Nikhil has recently designed two very neat boxes, which have relatively high-tech features that address the Sparrow issue head on. Both designs are basic wooden boxes that conform to the specifications set out by David Wingate and the National Trust, but one has a translucent hard plastic roof that is separated from the top of the main box by four small wooden posts, and the other features a fibreglass, cone-shaped roof.

The first box will repel sparrows, because even if they do succeed in getting through the small entrance, they do not like to nest under the open sky, and the roof of that box is pretty much open to all but the rain.

The second box won't do for Sparrows because they won't be able to perch on the steep cone-shaped roof. These ideas are simple enough, but the designs are pure genius, and the fact that a nine-year-old put them together makes these designs down right phenomenal! This kid is really something special.

The boxes, once built, are then hung on the trail. They must be hung between eight and ten feet high because if they are any lower than eight feet, cats will get to them. The children informed me further that fence posts are perhaps the most ideal place, because they eliminate the cat threat altogether, but there is still the ever-present human threat.

Yes, we are threats to the Bluebird population too (you're surprised?). The amicable Bluebird was known as the `farmer's friend' because they ate tons of insects. These days the beautiful creatures swoop down on a garden-eating insect and swallow a bellyful of toxic pesticides. This, as I'm sure you can imagine, is not a good situation for the Bluebird masses. Jessica, Nikhil and Mr. Wright want all you farmers to know that you are making many of your natural friends very sick with all those unnatural poisons. Awareness is the key.

Then there's the story about the box that was found smashed near the old baseball ground at Southside. Please people, if you see a small round gourd with a little hole in it attached to a fence post, do not interfere with it! Furthermore, if you see any kids interfering with one of these boxes (especially if they are swinging at it with a bat of some sort) tell them to leave it alone!

We're a long way from the days when flocks of 200 Bluebirds patrolled the skies over our little piece of paradise, but with children like Nikhil and Jessica on the case, the future is bound to get bluer.

The kids had a hundred more interesting facts and amusing stories, but the real drive behind their efforts is an immediately recognisable love of learning and a substantial desire to restore the Bluebird to its once prominent position as a national species. Mr. Wright confessed his great surprise at the extent to which these two children have taken to the conservation work, and the overwhelming success that this project has garnered in the area of creative writing for the school as a whole.

The actual going out and doing is what has triggered a very rich, very detailed vein of writing in the school, and their saving Bluebirds to boot! It looks like Mr. Wright and his team have stumbled onto something wonderful down there where the sun rises, let's hope the wealth spreads shall we?