Tia Wood, Ruby Eisenberg, Anthony Thomas, and Jemma Taylor
Dr. Mari Rice – ENVSTD 121
Intermountain Bird Observatory
Introduction
Learning Goals:
The purpose of service learning was for us to connect the ideas we were learning in class and integrate them into actual hands on learning, though the Intermountain Bird Observatory we were able to understand what habitat conservation actually looks like, There is no big secret method it’s just groups of people going out there and getting there hands dirty. Whether it be digging holes and planting hundreds of seeds or just picking up trash.
Reflection
Anthony: Through our work with the IBO I have gained a greater understanding of what conservation actually looks like. I’ve always known it was important but only now do I understand how much work actually goes into something as simple as keeping areas clean and just how much of a difference 30 people and 4 hours of work can actually accomplish.
Jemma: I found connection with our local community of volunteers that routinely came out for bird banding. I was surprised that so many people took time to go out in the cold for no profit and had to train so much just to volunteer. I’m now planning to continue volunteering with them next semester after seeing how I can impact my local ecosystem.
Tia: During my time at IBO I performed multiple services. Both the education brought by planting plants and banding birds are important. I was able to learn about the migration patterns and how important it is to have a strong habitat for the birds to live in. While getting the experience of planting is important because it can be applied to any place I live. Creating a healthy environment for people to use for things like hiking, fishing and much more, has helped me bond with my community.
Ruby: During my service hours at IBO, I gained more respect for the people who volunteer their lives to help their community. Though I always saw it as a noble thing, doing it myself made me realize that it takes a lot of time, energy, and effort towards the community in order to really make a difference. I do plan on doing more volunteering in the future, as I had done volunteer work before this experience, and I’ve enjoyed it every time.
Community Partner: Intermountain Bird Observatory
Mission Statement:
“At IBO, we work to impact human lives and significantly contribute to bird conservation through a unique combination of cooperative research, education, discovery of the natural world, and community engagement”
Project Purpose/Community Identified Need:
We help the community and property by preserving the trails in addition to helping wildlife. Picking up trash, planting plants that will last decades, and blocking off areas to protect them from human interactions.
On tree planting days and bird banding days the community was able to show up and become educated on how to help the property, and feeling included while helping their community.
Want to learn more about IBO visit https://www.boisestate.edu/ibo/
Course Concepts
Ecosystem Conservation: Even though the place is named after its birds, we focused on planting trees, milkweed, goldenrod, etc. because maintaining the habitat is important to supporting its life.
Sustainability: The cottonwoods onsite were either close to the end of their lifespans or very young, so we worked on planting things in between to look out for the future of the ecosystem.
The Hydrologic Cycle: We worked on a side channel ecosystem, so our goal was to support it and the life it sustained. They had areas to measure the flow of water and when it was disrupted, we put things back the way they were.
Methods
- We collected trash along the trail
- We planted trees with trowels and drills
- We made cages for the plants that we had planted
- We collected cages that were no longer helping and disposed of them
- We cut down chicken wire cages
- We put up wiring to prevent people from going into certain areas of the site
Results
Trees will grow and improve the site’s environment while also preventing erosion of the side channel. Cages will help the plants grow in a stable manner. Picking up trash will prevent the site from more pollution and improve its appearance. The bird banding will track the migration of the birds around the site.
Our work directly addressed the needs of the community because of our attempts to conserve the Intermountain Bird Observatory. We helped in protecting the habitat of wildlife in the area while conserving the land as well. We planted trees in order to preserve the side channel and prevent further erosion. We also collected trash and maintained the trail so that people would be able to enjoy it.