Transparent glass is not for the birds! Up to one billion birds die annually in North America due to collisions with glass, according to Bird Safe Philly, which has made great strides in reducing avian loss around the city in recent years. When 3rd-grade science students learned this startling fact a few months ago during a presentation by SCH parent, biologist, and Bird Safe Philly volunteer Stephanie Egger, they asked how they might take action. They decided to focus on the Lower School cafeteria windows, as this spot can be particularly dangerous because it reflects the Wissahickon woods and can draw birds in.
With the help of Feather Friendly, Anya Rose, Carie Szalay, and Marianne Maloy’s science classes have been placing markers on the large cafeteria windows to reduce bird strikes, which most often occur at nighttime during migration. Some stickers are simply dots from Feathered Friendly to alert the birds that the glass is a solid structure and others are small vinyl decals shaped like birds, hand drawn by the students and cut in-house in our ever-awesome maker space.