By: Clarence Ndabahwerize, Staff Writer
Vanessa Hum, a master’s of biological sciences student at SFU, has been conducting a study on bird collisions with windows at the Burnaby campus. Through citizen science, which she explained as data collected by the public, she has gained a better understanding of the magnitude of window collisions occurring on campus. “Involving the public allows for different perspectives, allows the public to contribute to science, and brings more discussions in communities,” said Hum in an interview with The Peak.
She referred to the Global Bird Collision Mapper as a good example of how citizen science could be used to collect window collection data. “The public can report a window collision to this worldwide database; anyone, any day, any time, and any place.” She hopes to use the findings from her research to determine what specific variables make a building or facade high-risk to window collisions.
Hum first started looking into this phenomenon during the last year of her Bachelor’s in Environmental Science at Carleton University in Ottawa. Her thesis was on researching “the motivations and barriers to volunteering in the environmental sector.” This led her to investigate environmental volunteering opportunities in the Ottawa area. This is when she encountered Safe Wings Ottawa — an organization that engages in research, rescue missions, and prevention initiatives for bird collisions. “I was unsure what I would be doing after my Bachelor’s degree, but I knew I had a deep interest in window collisions.”
Hum reported window collisions are responsible for 16–42 million avian deaths a year in Canada. “The reason that birds are colliding with windows is often due to glass transparency and reflectivity. Birds cannot see glass. They either see straight through to the other side or see the reflection of the vegetation.” In Hum’s research, she found most of the bird deaths at SFU are forest-dwelling insectivores and migratory birds. Both groups have declining populations. “SFU’s Burnaby campus is along a migration flyway and surrounded by forest, making it highly susceptible to a large number of collisions,” Hum said.
“I hope that my research findings will be the background support needed to push more policy [ . . . ] both on campus and worldwide,” Hum said.
She added, “I hope to see bird-friendly window designs implemented into provincial building codes in the future.” Window murals, which are part of her research implementation, provide an interdisciplinary collaboration opportunity. “Every bird-friendly mural I have designed and installed could not have been done without volunteers.”
To learn more about the project or to get involved email Hum at vanessa_hum@sfu.ca.
