East Grand Rapids — Nestled at the heart of Breton Downs Elementary, there’s an outdoor courtyard space that fourth-grader Porter Hall has turned into his domain.
For a school “job” assigned by his teacher at the start of the year, Porter was put in charge of making sure the bird feeders in the courtyard are filled. Despite having no prior experience with, or knowledge of, birds or ornithology, Porter greeted the task with interest, pride and enthusiasm that’s spreading to his classmates and sparked a new interest in the school’s avian visitors.
“He’s really just jumped into it,” said Principal Katie McIntosh. “It is like a little sanctuary back there. Students will sit outside and just watch the bird feeders and do scientific observations on what’s going on out there.”
The morning after a recent mid-December snow dump, Porter made the rounds, filling up the feeders with seed from metal tubs.
“I like seeing the birds get less and less scared of me as I come out,” he remarked as he went about his work. “The first time I did it, they were like, ‘Who’s this stranger?’ and they flew right away. And now when I come out, they’re still cautious, but they go to a bush instead of flying away when I feed them. Because they know that they’re getting fed, not harmed.”
One of the buckets of seed was a bit jammed and proved tricky to open, “But that’s OK because it keeps the squirrels out,” Porter said, sharing one of many kernels of wisdom gathered during his time on the job.
“I think it’s calming,” he said of his work. “But in the winter, it’s cold.”
An Area ‘Revitalized’
Porter quickly noticed that feeding the birds wasn’t all that needed to be done. He wondered where they got their water, and after a conversation with his teacher, Cheryl Radecki, he recommended that the school purchase a heated birdbath, too.
“Birds do need to drink in the winter. My teacher mentioned a heated birdbath and I thought it was a great idea,” Porter said. “Even in the summertime, the birds could use a birdbath.”
The solar-powered heating element in the birdbath was on the fritz at the moment, but that didn’t dampen Porter’s spirits as he gestured to the frozen water.
“What used to be a birdbath is now a bird ice-skating rink!” he joked.
Among the birds he’s seen in the courtyard are cardinals, orioles, black-capped chickadees and even a Cooper’s hawk.
“But that’s not here for the seed,” Porter said of the hawk. “It’s here for the little birds. It found the perfect spot (to hunt).”
Radecki said Porter approaches his work with a degree of enthusiasm she’s come to expect from the fourth-grader.
“Everything Porter does is with a lot of energy and passion. That’s the kind of learner he is,” she said. “Porter has kind of revitalized this area with bird watching and observing. It’s become an extension of the classroom. (Students are) observing and noticing, and trying to identify birds and having conversations in the classroom about food selection and the need for water in the winter time.”
‘I like seeing the birds get less and less scared of me as I come out.’
— Breton Downs fourth-grader Porter Hall
Preserving a Legacy
Count Mary Nelson and Carol Muth among Porter’s fans. The pair established a fund through the East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation in memory of Carol’s husband, Jon Muth, who passed away in 2021. Jon, an avid bird watcher, attended Breton Downs with Nelson before they graduated in 1963.
“We thought it would be great to have a birdfeeder here, in his memory,” Mary said, noting that at the base of the birdfeeders, an engraved plaque memorializes Jon.
Of Porter’s work, Mary noted: “He’s very serious about it. I’m just so impressed.”
Next year will be Porter’s last at Breton Downs, but he’s hoping he can hold his position until he moves on to middle school, and maybe even help train his replacement.
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