As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we’ve installed two swift boxes on our manufacturing plant here in Ireland — a small step, but one we’re glad to take for a bird that needs the help.
Common swifts are red-listed in Ireland, meaning they’re a species of highest conservation concern (Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland 4, 2020–2026). Every summer they return, often to the very same nesting site, after an extraordinary migration from Africa. The trouble is, swifts nest almost exclusively in small gaps and cavities under the eaves and rooflines of buildings — and modern construction and renovation have been steadily closing those gaps off, leaving fewer and fewer places for them to raise their young.
That’s a problem our industry understands well: we spend our working lives thinking about the built environment, so it felt like a natural fit to make a small part of our own site a little more hospitable to the wildlife around it. The boxes are mounted high on the building, sheltered from direct sun, and ready for swifts to find when they return next spring.
It’s a modest addition, but it sits alongside the broader environmental commitments we’re building at Strikebox, and it’s one we hope to grow — more boxes, and hopefully swifts calling our plant home for seasons to come.
Interested in what else we’re doing on sustainability? Keep an eye on this page for updates.….
