1,000 New Homes for Nature: Eco Skills Learning Centre Launches Digital ‘Box Tracker’ to Map Local Wildlife
WOKINGHAM, UK – After helping local children build over 1,000 wildlife habitats, the Eco Skills Learning Centre is proud to announce the launch of their new Box Tracker.
This new digital platform is designed to turn bird boxes, bug hotels, and hedgehog homes made at the centre into vital pieces of environmental data.
The Eco Skills Learning Centre, which originated from the Lambs Lane Repair Café, teaches young people how to reduce, reuse, and recycle by crafting animal habitats from donated wood offcuts. Having reached the milestone of 1,000 boxes built since its inception, the centre is now focusing on the long-term impact of these projects.
The project began when founder Billie Bachra gave a talk at the Rotary Club of Wokingham. After hearing about the centre’s mission and Billie’s vision for a tracking tool, members and co-founders of SD Studios – Design & Digital Ltd, reached out and offered to design and build the application as a gift to the community.
A Community-Led Technical Build
Launched on 16th April 2026, the Box Tracker is a bespoke, web-based application built using React and TypeScript, hosted on AWS. The platform was designed and built by the team at SD Studios – from the custom-illustrated icons to the back-end email notifications, hosting set-up, and user dashboard. The build took six weeks from initial concept to launch.
The Box Tracker allows owners of the boxes built at the centre to:
- Register an Installation: Log the location of their box as ‘Vacant’ upon installation.
- Monitor Wildlife: Update the status to ‘Occupied’ once birds, bugs, or hedgehogs move in.
- Contribute Data: Upload photos of the inhabitants, helping the centre track how long it takes to inhabit a box, the time of year, and which species are using the homes.
Closing the Loop on Conservation
By mapping these 1,000+ habitats, the centre can now visualise its collective impact across Berkshire. The data gathered will provide insights into local biodiversity and ensure the reclaimed wood used in the workshops offers a genuine lifeline for local wildlife.
About Eco Skills Learning Centre:
Based at Pudding Lane Nurseries in Arborfield, the Eco Skills Learning Centre is a volunteer-led community dedicated to empowering youth with practical eco-friendly skills. Through workshops for schools, scouts, and youth groups, they promote the importance of wildlife habitats using 100% reclaimed materials.
