You may have noticed the new birdhouse in the courtyard outside the Little Theater, but this is no ordinary birdhouse.

For three years 2022 senior Cameron Rawl decided to take on building a large birdhouse project. While the project reflected the smaller scale projects that he had been working on in class, this birdhouse was scaled up.

Tech teacher Mr. Cameron Brown praised Cam’s work: “The birdhouse was about three quarters the size of Cam. He took the skills from small projects like we were working on and maximized it. He wanted to do something a bit different and that [the birdhouse] was what he decided to do.”

Cam was born with a birth defect called Hypo-Plastic Left Heart Syndrome which is a heart condition that affects blood flow to the heart.

In November 2021, Cam left school for a heart transplant and was able to go home to recover after six weeks. Throughout early 2022, he was in and out of the hospital for various reasons until he sadly lost his battle March 3, 2022.

When Cam passed, the birdhouse that he worked on for so long was unfinished, but not abandoned.

Everything was done by Cam, but the house was left without a roof. Mr. Brown took up the challenge to finish what Cam started and craft a roof for the birdhouse.

“Cam worked so hard on that birdhouse for multiple years—I couldn’t let it be left unfinished,” Mr. Brown explained.

Once Mr. Brown finished the roof, the question was where to display the birdhouse. This is where Mrs. Laurie Able came in.

“The Life Skills class got a grant to convert that courtyard [outside the Little Theater] into a learning garden, so we have the garden boxes that we planted in the spring and then agin in the fall . . . we wanted to make a learning garden for the whole school,” Mrs. Abel said about the courtyard space.

Installing the birdhouse in the courtyard makes a beautiful scene.

The flowers planted by the Life Skills class gives a pop of color that really brightens the school.

“The birdhouse added to the courtyard was a perfect spot for us. Cam knew a bunch of the kids so his birdhouse being there gives the kids a way to remember him,” Mrs. Able added.

Benches line the courtyard which gives people the opportunity to sit and admire the courtyard. With the new birdhouse people can sit and watch the birds fly in and out of the birdhouse.

There’s even plans to add an additional water source to the area.

The birdhouse provides over 30 homes for birds; in the short amount of time the house has been up, birds have already taken time to build their nests in Cam’s creation.

Originally, the idea was to install the birdhouse by the willow trees near the track, but there was an opportunity with the Audubon Society that Mrs. Abel and the Life Skills Kids couldn’t pass up.

“We had the idea to put the birdhouse out there to attract more birds. We’re trying to get the area sponsored by the Audubon Society which requires a certain number of nesting sites, a way for the birds to get water, and a certain number of native plants. So the birdhouse helps us reach our goal to the Audubon Society along with honoring Cam,” Mrs. Abel said.

Mr. Brown also says there are plans for a plaque to be placed on the birdhouse pole in Cam’s name to recognize him as a student and honor him.