What: The Birdhouse Project workshop.
When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 20.
Where: Club Tico, 1599 City Park Drive, Fort Collins.
Cost: $30, which includes lunch from The Macaroni Grill and the birdhouse you make.
How it works:
Each participant is given pieces of wood for building a birdhouse, each of which represents something integral to the healing process. Once completed, all of the pieces are nailed together, except for the shelter. It's screwed on and easily removed, allowing the participant to reflect on what is written inside.
The foundation represents who the participant is at his or her core -- what stays firm even when the world seems to crumble.
The side walls represent crisis and the collection of emotions evoked by a tragedy.
The list gathers the regrets held by the grieving party that must be confronted.
The affirmation, on the back wall, lists those things a person can do to minimize the impact of grief and an affirmation that leads to growth.
The goals piece is on the front wall of the birdhouse, where the hole is. When you peer in, the first thing visible is the back affirmation piece, which symbolizes how goals and affirmation of self are more significant than regrets.
The shelter is the roof of the birdhouse, on which is written a list of things and people we are inclined to protect. Often, that includes sheltering memories, family and friends.
The perch extends an invitation for others to come near again, making the promise of new life possible.
The building of nests and shelters by our spring birds may hold the key to bringing solace to those facing loss or crisis in their lives.
For many, creating their own birdhouse can help ease pain and provide a path to the future, says Betsy Strafach, who with Kristin Glenn and Bonnie Cochran, created 3 Hopeful Hearts to help bereaved parents and families. The organization, along with other service programs in the area, will host The Birdhouse Project, presented by its creator, Kris Munsch, on April 20 in Fort Collins.
"The project uses the birdhouse as a metaphor, helping us to take up our lives, piece by piece, examine what was once there, what's there still and how to fill in the gaps as we come to terms with the emptiness," says Strafach.
Suitable for preteens through adults, the day features an hour-long presentation, followed by lunch and the workshop. The 75 birdhouse kits were cut by the woodshop class at Rocky Mountain High School.
"With hammer, nails and tears, you mourn the loss of a loved one, a job, a home, while symbolically building back your own life," says Strafach. "This is a unique collaboration with other groups in the area. We hope it helps people from throughout the community -- such as the High Park Fire victims, for instance -- or those who have lost a job, had a divorce or any kind of trauma."
The workshops serve as a personal journey for those who attend. "But, it's interesting that it's really not about the birdhouses at all," he says. "I can give 1,000 people one kit and get a very different birdhouse with each one. It's about building your own personal life back up. Each piece is identical, but it becomes your own."
Munsch is now happily remodeling a house in Hays he had been trying to buy for 10 years. "I've started being me," he says. "I'm more settled and more free now than I've ever been."