NTU students successfully raise funds to make school building safe for birds

SINGAPORE – After nearly two decades, a dazzling Nanyang Technological University building will finally get a facelift to make it safe for birds.

Momentum for the makeover

began on Oct 20

, when the student-led initiative Project Avigate launched a fund-raiser online to fix the building housing the School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) at NTU.

Responding to queries, a spokesman for the school told The Straits Times on Dec 9 that the campaign raised $60,000 – double the target set by the university.

This covers half the project’s cost – estimated at $120,000 – with NTU providing the remaining amount needed to retrofit the building, which has won awards for environmental friendliness.

Since the four-storey building’s completion in 2006, its large glass surfaces and funnel-like shape have frequently injured or killed birds, Project Avigate has found.

The same highly reflective glass panels of the building that helped it save energy have become a hazard for birds, which could not discern its windows from the surrounding landscape.

Once birds hit the building, they often fall into the building’s water features and drown.

Those fortunate enough to survive the impact then find it difficult to escape the enclosed building.

Over the past three seasons, when birds migrate across the world, the project’s daily monitoring sessions have logged 122 collisions involving 22 bird species.

The funds will go towards installing stickers on the more dangerous windows – about a quarter of the building’s glass panels – to make the surface visible to birds.

The hefty cost was previously attributed to a lack of commercially available options in the region, the need for additional equipment to install stickers on large buildings and weather-related factors.

While a start date has not been set, the students aim to have the decals in place by September 2026, ahead of the

southward migratory season

when birds fleeing winter in the Northern Hemisphere make a stopover in Singapore.

After ST reported on the fund-raising campaign, the public questioned why students, rather than the university, were raising funds for the upgrade.

Responding to queries, the ADM spokesman said NTU has supported the initiative both financially and through close collaboration with the student team.

He noted that the campaign reflects the students’ “desire to play their part in raising public awareness and environmental stewardship”.

“This campaign highlights how an exemplary student initiative, together with university support, can lead to effective measures in protecting fauna and raising ecological awareness,” he said.

Project Avigate co-founder Tang Kean Seng said that while the university did not act on the issue for years, the initiative’s success was enabled by the university’s guidance and financial support.

“I don’t think there is anyone to blame,” said the final-year student majoring in environmental earth systems science, public policy and global affairs.

“Neither NTU nor the architects who designed ADM intended to harm wildlife. The issue is unintentional… and fortunately, awareness of how to avoid such design pitfalls has been growing within the architectural community.”

The success marks a turnaround for the team. Second-year student Izzul Adham Noor Amidin, 22, said the goal initially felt “nearly unachievable” after a week-long bazaar raised only about $3,000, or roughly 10 per cent of the target sum.

But after ST’s report on the initiative, messages of support and pledges poured in from the public, boosting the team’s morale.

“It’s a testament to how much people are willing to help a cause they can easily rally behind,” Mr Izzul said.

A bird that crashed into NTU’s School of Art, Design and Media building and died in its pond.

PHOTO: PROJECT AVIGATE

Bird scientists lauded the students’ successful fund-raiser and NTU’s decision to retrofit the ADM building as a historic win for birds.

Avian researcher Tan Yen Yi said the move marks the first time in Singapore’s history that a student-led initiative has led to concrete actions towards bird-friendly building practices – and also a first for a tertiary education institution.

“Better now than never that a building meant to be environmentally friendly becomes ecologically friendly too,” said the assistant senior curator of birds at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

Bird Society of Singapore president Movin Nyanasengeran noted that while ADM is likely the best-monitored building in Singapore due to the students’ efforts, the sheer number and regularity of fatalities had warranted concern.

He said there are likely to be other glass buildings with unreported incidents, as they do not receive the same level of monitoring.

Likewise, Dr Tan, who has helmed the museum’s hotline for the public to report dead birds since 2019, said the recorded fatalities are just the tip of the iceberg.

“It’s only a matter of time, given the manpower and resources, that this hidden, inconvenient truth of urbanisation will come to light,” she said.

Dr Movin said handling the issue will only become more important as Singapore integrates more green spaces into urban centres to realise its vision of building a city in nature.

“We’re basically increasing the likelihood of birds living and moving in proximity to these structures,” he said.

“I would love for other potentially high-risk buildings to follow the example of the ADM building.”

For Mr Tang, the work is not yet done.

“We know bird collisions remain severely under-reported in other parts of Singapore, and instead of pointing fingers at specific buildings, we hope to convey (the message) that society can work on this together,” the 23-year-old said.

“We encourage everyone, especially building managers, to actively monitor collisions and reach out to us to discuss potential solutions.”

Members of the public who come across dead birds can contribute their findings to science by contacting the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s Dead Bird Hotline on +65-9876-4997 via WhatsApp or @deadbirdhotline on Telegram.

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