The student whose design will help prevent birds from flying into a student centre window is excited to see the mural completed.

Titled The Feathery Friends of Windsor, the illustration by integrative biology major Manpreet Bhachu incorporates various species including butterflies, fish, indigenous plants, and a variety of birds. Seven bird species are depicted in the panels in letters that spell “Windsor.”

“I am truly honoured to hear that my design will contribute to help birds through bird safety,” Bhachu says. “I’m genuinely really excited about this project.”

The UWindsor Sustainability Office had launched a contest soliciting designs for a window overlooking the balcony on the second floor of the CAW Student Centre to discourage birds from injury flying into the glass. The project is part of campus bird friendly efforts, BirdSafeUWin. Learn more on the University’s environmental sustainability website.

“We received several wonderful and creative design proposals,” says sustainability officer Nadia Harduar. “The evaluation committee had a difficult time deciding on a winner.”

Bhachu’s design will be printed as a large decal to be applied by summer’s end. She will receive $250 in UWinCASH sponsored by the K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation, which also contributed to the cost of creating and installing the decal.

“I’m glad everyone found my design creative, as that is exactly what I was going for,” Bhachu says.

Harduar notes that other designs may yet find use.

“We are hoping to leverage some of these on other large window spaces across campus in an effort to prevent future collisions resulting in bird trauma,” she says.

She encourages members of the campus community to report bird-window collisions and expresses thanks to the Pelee Island Bird Observatory for its assistance with the project and ongoing partnership.