BANNER IMAGE: A House Wren feeds its young. | Photo by Roger Hangarter
Education and outreach
Educational priorities
The Midwest Center for Biodiversity offers courses and workshops in conservation science and field methods in research. We are also expanding the role of the IU Bloomington campus as a living laboratory to provide field research experiences for undergraduates.
Kent Farm Research Station, located on the IU Research and Teaching Preserve's Kent Farm property, is a destination for IU classes (e.g., Biology of Birds) and a facility where IU undergraduates conduct mentor-guided individualized research projects.
The MCB is contributing to the formulation of an Indiana University program in conservation biology in collaboration with IU's Integrated Program in the Environment, Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, and Environmental Resilience Institute.
Outreach programming
MCB oversees outreach programs that offer participants a chance to learn about wild birds and their lives as well as the opportunity to see them up close.
Summer bird camp
The Midwest Center for Biodiversity—in collaboration with WonderLab Museum of Science, Health & Technology—oversees the "From Feathers to Flight" WonderCamp—a week of intensive, hands-on bird study at Kent Farm Research Station. Registration for this camp for grades 4-8 usually opens in March.
Students catch wild birds in mist nets, record measurements and other data about the birds, and release them back into nature. Demonstrations and activities will aid in campers’ understanding of bird ecology, anatomy, migration, flight, and identification.
MAPS Program
The MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) Program station at Kent Farm Research Station operates from May through August each year. This endeavor generates data for national avian population trends and provides the community with a chance to play a role in the process.
To learn more about the program, read "Collecting data to better understand climate change’s impact on birds" and visit the Kent Farm Banding Station Facebook page. For more information or if you would like to be added to the weekly summer email list when bird banding begins in May, contact MAPS Station Operator Eve Cusack. To participate in a banding and data collection session, sign up for the date during which you wish to attend.
Northern Saw-whet Owl banding
The Northern Saw-whet Owl banding station operates during the fall in Yellowwood State Forest in Brown County, Indiana, with the goal of discovering more about the migratory habits of these small owls while introducing these interesting owls and their needs to the public.
Environmental communication
MCB collaborates with The Media School and Professor James Shanahan at Indiana University on projects related to environmental communication.
Introducing Nature's Gossip: Loons
Even if you haven't been fortunate enough to hear the beautiful call of a Common Loon in the wild, you've most likely heard the species' haunting voice in movies and other media. But, what do those calls and other sounds made by loons mean? IU undergraduate student and Sustainability Scholar Mackenzie Bowlen spent a semester researching the complex vocalizations of the Common Loon. Listen to the podcast she created to introduce non-scientists to the remarkable sounds of this incredible bird.