Research Meets Action: An Alumna Strikes Down Bird-Window Collisions
- Sarah Wood
- Jul 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 3
Each year, Ecology Project International (EPI) seeks out the most promising environmental leaders from among our nearly 120,000 alumni, supporting them as they bring bold ideas to life. Past recipients of our Alumni Leadership Award have illustrated environmentally-focused children’s books, launched solar energy projects at their high school, and produced films about wildlife crossings in their community. One alum was even recognized by the United Nations for his environmental education work in Canada!
Today, we’re thrilled to share an inspiring update from one of our 2025 awardees, who has gone above and beyond to make a lasting impact in her community.
Shterna Gordon, an alumna of both our Yellowstone and Costa Rica programs, was deeply influenced by her experiences in two vastly different ecosystems. Immersed in scientific research and daily conservation work, she came away with a powerful insight: “Research is a great tool, but only when backed by action.” That realization sparked a project idea once she returned home to the United States.
Currently studying wildlife and forest conservation at Vermont State University (VTSU), Shterna spends much of her time in the campus’s science building, which features beautiful glass windows that offer stunning views of campus. But she realized those very windows posed a silent threat: birds regularly collided with the glass, often resulting in injury or death. Fueled by her love of birds and her recent EPI experiences, Shterna set out to find a solution.
Shterna started by diving into the research on bird window collisions, and found that these encounters amount to the second largest killer of wild birds, after cats. While many people use stickers or decals on windows to deter birds, she knew those approaches are ineffective. Then she discovered bird fritting: a ceramic pattern applied to glass that prevents collisions while maintaining an attractive appearance. Widely used in large buildings around the world, fritting seemed perfect—except for one challenge: cost.
Armed with her passion for birds and her newfound knowledge of fritting, Shterna applied for EPI’s Alumni Leadership Award funding to outfit the science building windows with fritting.
As with any project involving a multitude of partners, Shterna required significant leg work to get it up and running. She secured support from the science department and maintenance staff, identified how to implement the installation, and navigated the logistics of timing the installation with favorable weather. Her perseverance paid off: the university’s own maintenance staff installed the material free of charge!
Today, the third-floor atrium windows feature a subtle polka-dot fritting pattern that alerts birds to the glass. Shterna even applied frosted glass to several smaller windows herself.
And the work isn’t over—at the start of the next school year, she’ll oversee the installation of additional fritting and unveil an interpretive sign explaining the project’s purpose and impact.
Reflecting on the progress of her project so far, Shterna shared, “I learned a lot by putting my plans into action. It can be hard to see a way to make a difference when looking at a big problem, yet when a problem is broken down into manageable steps, I am more than able to enact change. I am elated to report that when I checked on the atrium on June 23 after the fritting had been up for more than a month (including during migration), I saw no bird casualties!”
We here at EPI could not be more thrilled that Shterna has enacted such an impactful, tangible project that will inspire others to create positive change on their college campus and in their home communities.
