Lincoln-based manufacturing firm Micrometric has partnered with Metalbird UK to produce 250 unique metal art birds which have raised £11,000 for the wildlife affected by the Australian bushfires.
Micrometric has produced 250 life-like artistic birds for Metalbird – the brainchild of Phil Walters, an industrial designer and lover of birds and street art whose work was originally inspired by satirical street artist Banksy.
Metalbird started as a guerrilla street art project in New Zealand to surprise and delight passers-by but has now developed into a gift company thanks to popular demand.
The birds, which pay homage to the 500 million native Australian birds and animals that have been killed in the bushfires, are made from 4mm mild steel and have been produced using Micrometric’s laser cutting machines.
Profits from the sale of the kookaburra metal birds have been donated to the Australian Red Cross and WWF Australia to support the wildlife affected by the bushfire devastation.
Neil Main, Managing Director at Micrometric, commented: “We have already worked with Metalbird on several other projects and were thrilled when they appointed us to help them with this charitable project because of our skills and expertise in quickly producing quality pieces of work.
“To create the metal birds, we used a mixture of machinery and skills; an outline of the bird perching on a branch was created. This branch acts as a large pin which can be hammered into a tree or wooden surface.
“We were delighted to be involved in this project and do our bit to support such an important cause – there’s something incredibly special about the fact that we’ve been able to use our skills to benefit a country on the other side of the world.”
Phil Walters, founder and Director of Metalbird, said: “Just like so many others across the globe, we are heartbroken by the impact of the bushfires in Australia. We began thinking of ways in which we could provide some form of support for the millions of birds and animals that have been affected by the fires – and that’s when we decided to enlist the help of the team at Micrometric to create kookaburra metal art birds.
“In order to maximise our fundraising efforts, we have already donated all the profits from the sale of the birds during Australia Day weekend (25th and 26th January) to Australia Red Cross and WWF Australia. Our combined Metalbird regions throughout the world have raised over £11,000 for this worthy cause.
“We’d like to thank everyone who has already purchased one of the birds – your support and donations have been much appreciated.”
To find out more about Metalbird or to purchase a kookaburra or British metal bird, visit the website.