University Campuses Glazing the Way | EarthCare Northwest

Bird-friendly artwork titled “Albireo’s Aviary” installed at University of British Columbia’s Center for Interactive Research on Sustainability. Artist: Lora Zosia Moon. Photo credit: UBC.

When we think about cities, one of the first things that comes to mind is buildings. We know many urban hazards exist for birds; one of the leading causes of bird mortality is building collisions. Seattle Audubon is working alongside our partners in the Seattle Bird Conservation Partnership to pass city-wide requirements and incentives to ensure that new construction and renovations will meet a clear set of bird-friendly building standards. Two local university campuses have already made their own commitments toward bird-friendly building policies. Both the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Washington (UW) have created plans and policies that give bird advocates a seat at the table when it comes to future campus development projects.

Judy Bowes, a local bird-building collision expert and UW Ph.D. student in the College of the Built Environments and leader of the UW Bird-Friendly Campus Group, answered a few of our questions about how the UW is taking birds into consideration with its policy development.

What is the UW developing in terms of a policy?

Sparked by a community member who was concerned about collisions, in September 2021, the university put together the UW Bird-Friendly Campus Group comprised of faculty, grounds staff, building coordinators, architects, and Seattle Audubon staff, to start the development of their own tri-campus policy. The policy will focus on preventing bird-building collisions, but also on light pollution reduction, habitat creation, and the change to organic pesticides. The UW Bothell campus already made the switch to organic herbicides and has seen an increase in wildlife diversity.

What buildings on the UW campuses are problematic?

Specific building features are more deadly than others so we are prioritizing treatment areas. Transparent walkways, of which there are three at UW Seattle that all show imprints of a bird strike on the glass, are the deadliest. Transparent corners, where two walls of glass come together, are also a top concern. UW is joining Seattle University as the second university campus to have some of its buildings monitored by volunteers through Seattle Audubon’s collision monitoring program in order to gain valuable insight.

Transparent walkways between buildings, like the one in William H. Foege Hall at the University of Washington’s Seattle campus, are shown to be one of the more deadly building features for birds. They are increasingly popular because they let in so much natural light.

What are some of the challenges you have already faced as UW considers a campus-wide plan?

Reducing light pollution is important to prevent drawing migrating birds off course and in close proximity of lit glass surfaces; however, university campuses require a certain level of night lighting to maintain safety for their student bodies.

Because many window treatment options, like Feather Friendly vinyl dot patterns, are new on the market, we have limited information on how long these treatments will last. The combination of long-term sun and rain exposure that we have in Seattle could mean they last their expected 15-20 years, or not.

We also currently lack data on window collisions at a local level. When we develop a policy, it needs to protect the greatest number of birds possible. To do so, we need science-based solutions that reduce collisions for local and migrating bird species.

Why are university campuses some of the first to develop bird-friendly policies?

Universities value research. The University of British Columbia was conducting its own on-campus research and an estimated 10,000 birds were dying annually, in part due to building design and the proximity to habitat on campus. This sparked their interest in a campus-wide bird-friendly buildings policy.

Private corporate campuses use a lot of glass in their building designs. Glass lets in natural light and beautiful views, which contribute to employee well-being. What is missing is the education piece for architects and designers of these corporate campuses to learn how to effectively use glass treatments that allow for natural light, but are also bird-friendly.

About Judy Bowes Judy is an architectural researcher and bird building collision consultant. She received her MS in Architecture, History and Theory from the University of Washington where she studied the impacts of the built environment on avian species in the United States. Learn more about Judy by visiting her website, Birdphilic.com