What is the ambitious goal of this project?
Join our team to help restore a new channel of the Boise River, while working to monitor the plants and wildlife that call this ecosystem home.
Every year across the U.S., more than one billion birds die from colliding with building windows, and Boise is no exception. This VIP will study buildings around Boise State’s campus that have high numbers of bird window strikes.
The goal of this research is to determine which buildings (and which windows in particular) are most likely to be hit by migrating songbirds, and ask what mitigation strategies will be most effective. This project uses a multidisciplinary approach and there are opportunities for students with artistic and creative abilities to help with both window mitigation designs and outreach materials.
Students will have the opportunity to gain experience not only with field research in an urban setting but with coordination and communication in a professional/research setting, team leadership, community outreach, data entry and analysis, and much more! This project also has the potential to be long-term with many different research avenues branching from it.
Experience Gained
Experiences are varied and can be tailored to student career interests, including:
- Habitat restoration Biological monitoring
- Community outreach
- Working with non-profits, state and federal wildlife agencies
- Leadership and community involvement
- Plant identification
- Insect identification
- Bird Identification
- Data management
- Trail building and habitat management
- Signage and brochure design
- K-12 education opportunities available (depending on student interest)
- No preparation needed for 200 level; at the 400 level, completion of the 200 level VIP on same project, or ecology or similar upper division biol course needed for habitat restoration work; options available for non-biology majors including construction, graphic design, and K-12 education.
- Methodologies used in the project: early childhood education, fieldwork, instructional design, K-12 outreach and collaboration, nonprofit management, qualitative research methods, quantitative research methods.
Majors or Interests Needed
- Anthropology
- Art
- Biological Sciences
- Communication
- Construction Management
- Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundation Studies
- Early and Special Education
- Environmental Studies Program
- Gaming and Interactive Mobile Media (GIMM)
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Teacher Education
- Urban Studies & Community Development
VIP Coach Information
Heidi W. Carlisle is the Director of Education at the Diane Moore Intermountain Bird Observatory. You can reach Ms. Carlisle at HeidiWare@boisestate.edu
Greg Kaltenecker is the Executive Director of the Diane Moore Intermountain Bird Observatory. You can reach Mr. Kaltenecker at gregorykaltenecker@boisestate.edu.
Course Information
LAUNCHING FALL 2022
VIP 200, VIP 400 or VIP 500
Full semester course. Choose to enroll in 1 or 2 credits.
Fall 2022 meetings: TBD
Interested in joining this team?
For more information and to request a permission number to register contact Heidi Carlisle at HeidiWare@boisestate.edu OR complete this interest form and we will follow up with you. Check out this page for tips on contacting a professor.
To register, search by Subject: Vertically Integrated Projects, read the project description to find the right section of VIP 200, 400, or 500.
Here are instructions for using permission numbers Add with a permission number