Kids DIY: Simple Organic Pinecone Birdfeeders

Our backyard is a huge nature preserve and one of Eben’s favorite spring time activities is to sit on our patio and watch the birds darting in and out of the trees. After a few days of minimal visits from our feathered friends, we decided to entice them to visit our backyard more often. We grabbed a couple of pinecones from the front yard, a huge scoop of organic nut butter, some baker’s twine and a bowl full of organic nuts and seeds and headed outside to make them a little treat. This craft only takes a few minutes, however it combines everything that children love – getting their hands dirty, having a little snack, making something fun and nature. Read on for the full directions and enjoy an afternoon making simple, spring organic pinecone birdfeeders for your backyard.

What you will need:

• pinecones
• baker’s twine
• organic nut butter
• organic nuts and seeds
• scissors

Step 1: Add the Baker’s Twine
Simply tie a piece of baker’s twine around the pinecone near the top. This would be the perfect time to reuse a large piece of ribbon, string or yarn that you have lying around the house.

Step 2: Add the Nut Butter
Roll the pinecones in nut butter until it is completely coated, you can also use a knife – Eben decided to dig right in and use his fingers and hands to get the nut butter into every nook and cranny. 

Step 3: Add the Nuts and Seeds
Then, he rolled the nut butter covered pinecones in the nuts and seeds until the entire surface of the pinecone were completely covered. He even pushed a lot of pieces into the folds of the pinecones for added hidden bonuses.

Step 4: Hang It
Pick a place in your backyard where you have seen birds visit before. We hung out pinecone birdfeeders next to our regular birdfeeder hoping that it would easily attract our friends.

Step 5: Listen and Watch
After we hung our feeders, we sat on the our patio and waited for the birds to arrive. We had a delightful afternoon watching the birds nibbling at our pinecone birdfeeders!

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This organic pinecone birdfeeder DIY was featured in this month’s issue of Green Child Magazine, grab your copy here or download it on iTunes here.