Armed with hooks, skeins of yarn and a little bit of patience, skilled crocheters can craft a wide variety of useful things. But at least for one afternoon at the Plum Creek Nature Center, crocheting was for the birds, along with the possums and raccoons and any other wildlife in need of a little help.

The Crochet for Wildlife program at the center in Crete Township brought 24 people together to stitch more than 40 small nests, a number that continued to grow as people finished them at home.  The nests are being donated to the Willowbrook Wildlife Center to aid animals during their rehabilitation.

“Animals eat a lot, and they also create a lot of waste, so these nests are more reusable than what they would normally use — paper towels and things like that,” said Brittany Schaller, an interpretive naturalist who works at the Plum Creek Nature Center. “As they get soiled, they just get washed.”

The nests were crafted in different sizes and shapes to support the varying needs of the wildlife rescue center, which may care for anything from baby birds to medium-sized mammals. Schaller said the project also keeps scrap yarn from going to waste.

“Crocheters have no shortage of random scrap yarn or ugly-colored yarns they would like to use up,” Schaller said. “This is a great way to do that. The little critters don’t care if it’s an ugly color you don’t want to make a blanket out of. That yarn has great use as a little rescue nest.”

That resourcefulness also led to some unique creations, she said.

“One of the cool things about using random yarn is each one is so different, just based on the size or what color yarn you use,” Schaller said. “Each one was a little work of art.”

Schaller said someone brought a similar program to her attention years ago, and she volunteered to crochet and donate nests. She came to the Forest Preserve District of Will County roughly a year and a half ago and a light bulb went off.

“Many, many years later, I’m now working at the forest preserve and thought, I could do that program now,” Schaller said.

Schaller connected with Wildlife Rescue Nests, a nonprofit that registers both volunteers and sites that receive nests, to learn more about how to crochet nests for wildlife and teach others to do the same.

“For the people who are familiar with the basic stitches of crocheting, the process is pretty simple,” Schaller said. “They require just a little, specific tweak for the patterns to ensure the safety of the wildlife.”

To that end, Schaller said while she has been happy to see some of the program participants continue to drop off completed nests, the nature center is only accepting them from people who have gone through the program to learn the necessary skills. But Schaller hopes to hold similar programs soon so that more people can learn.

The Crochet for Wildlife effort dovetailed with the “Birds in Art” exhibition that is on display through Feb. 25, at the nature center, 27064 S. Dutton Road in Crete Township, near Beecher. The exhibit features 60 pieces of art focused on bird themes and habitats from the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.

The free exhibit is open to all ages, with no registration required. It is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and noon-4 p.m. Sundays.

Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.