It’s been proven that watching birds can be beneficial to both mind and body and, according to Peterborough resident Noella Koshul, so is the process of making a bath for them.
She knows this firsthand because, for the last year and a half, she has been collecting second-hand pieces of dishware to piece together into colourful birdbaths that sparkle in the sun and provide water to birds and other garden-dwelling creatures — and also help her de-stress from work.
“I just really like the idea of making something rather than buying something,” Koshul says. “Not that there’s not beautiful stuff out there, but it’s just that much more meaningful when it’s something you’ve created. It pleases my inner magpie — they’re shiny and sparkly outside and they are an absolute delight to do. I’m completely out of my head when I’m doing them, which is the biggest benefit.”
As someone who runs a grief counselling and end-of-life doula private practice in Peterborough and is an instructor in psychology in the nursing program at Loyalist College, Koshul realized she wasn’t listening to the advice she was dishing out.
“To my clients and stressed-out students, I’m always extolling the virtues of working with your hands as a way to de-stress and reset, and I thought ‘I always say that, but I never do it,'” she says, adding that she made it her New Year’s resolution in 2024. “It was just to try new things and to try making things that I’ve never tried before. I love to bake and I’m trying to teach myself watercolours, and I thought this is one I can actually feel good about.”
She can feel good about it because instead of purchasing brand new products to create her birdbaths, Koshul began her new hands-on project by repurposing older items that she had inherited from her family. When she ran out of her own dishware to transform, she began digging around at yard sales and local thrift shops like the Habitat for Humanity ReStores and Vinnie’s.
“They can’t sell it all and ultimately a lot does end up in landfills, so I thought this is just a fun way for me to use it,” Koshul says. “It’s a low-cost hobby, it’s relaxing, and I end up with something beautiful at the end of it. Honestly, it’s really addictive and I find myself getting excited about it.”
When she’s in the thrift store she says she’s on the hunt for vases, bowls, platters, and other dishes that are “unusual, colourful pieces, in interesting shapes” and, when she finds colours that look nice together, she just “plays.”
“Because I have zero training in art at all, I’m really just putting things together,” she admits. “It’s not a science of colours or shapes or anything, it’s just things that I find really visually pleasing and then I just cross my fingers that other people will like them. You just have to want to play with shapes and colours, and that’s it.”
“I’m creating these visual pieces of what I think are art for my backyard and for friends, and that’s the beauty of it,” Koshul says. “I’m not an artist and I don’t have to be an artist, but I still end up with these really beautiful structures.”
Koshul is humble in labelling herself as not being an artist considering her creativity shines not only through the birdbaths themselves, but the stories she gives them when she lists them for sale on Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, alongside recommendations on the flowers and plants they would look best beside.
From a birdbath reminiscent of the King’s Vegas jumpsuits that brings out a touch of ’70s flair to one that pays homage to the Chrysler Building with an art deco design, there’s no limit to Koshul’s playful imagination.
“I love writing. I write seriously for myself and that’s another way just of processing life and it’s a pleasure for me. It seemed fun to introduce them to people online as though they had a personality.”
Koshul adds that, since many of the pieces are second-hand and often from estate sales, she enjoys imagining the homes they came from and the past lives they’ve lived.
“I know that these pieces were valuable, not just in terms of dollars … I’m sure these pieces meant a lot to the people who had them originally,” she says.
“Kind of a nice thing to think about is where these used to live before I got my hands on them, and then introducing them to a different bowl or a different vase that they didn’t live with all their life in somebody’s china cabinet. They get a new life and then get sent out to the world.”
Beyond being personally good for her mental health, Koshul recognizes that making bird baths is good for the planet and the creatures living in her garden.
“It’s such a relaxing, beautiful thing to sit and watch the birds in your backyard,” she says, noting the lack of rain this summer. “We’ve even got chipmunks now using them in our backyard because there aren’t other water sources really anywhere except these birdbaths. I’m really conscious about filling them twice a day now just to make sure that those little critters have something to drink.”
She says the birds and squirrels have picked up on her daily routine of cleaning and refilling the birdbaths in the morning, and they often wait on her fence for her to fill them up before they have their morning drink.
“They really do get used to it. Just like with food, water is an absolute essential for them, so they learn where it is, where they can get it, and quickly alter their routines to match yours. I see them probably more now that I’ve got the birdbaths out there than I ever did before.”
Having given away and sold upwards of 25 baths, Koshul adds that she gets the same feedback from others who have her birdbaths bringing life to their own gardens.
“People send me little notes and say they saw robins or chickadees or finches in the baths and I get little reports about how well-received they are in the avian community,” she says.
“I’ve had repeats customers purchase more than one from me and say that they’re really happy, and that it’s nice to sit out and watch birds flit about something pretty. That is an absolute thrill for me to hear.”
Koshul says she is “shocked” anyone was interested in purchasing her birdbaths, considering it was intended to be just a relaxing activity for her — which it has been proven to be.
“It’s such a complete 180 from what I do for my work that it really gives my brain a chance to just shut off,” she says. “I love my work as a grief support worker and end-of-life support, and I love teaching, but those things can wear you down. They’re meaningful, but without some way to step away from that (so) your brain can completely turn off, you can end up burned out.”
“This has been fantastic. I actually feel so energized when I do it. It’s so much fun to play.”
