Bird Strike Remediation Project at Robinson Nature Center

Photo by Sue Muller
Photo by Sue Muller

Dawn Thomas HoCo Superintendent of Recreation, Adventure and Nature Division, Jaimie Wilder, RNC Development & Exhibits Specialist, Kurt Schwarz, HCBC photographer and Safe Skies, Val Swan, HCBC photographer and Vice President, Eli Vogel and Carolyn Parsa, Safe Skies, Shannon Davis, RNC Manager, Sue Muller, HCBC photographer and Safe Skies, Guy DiRoma, HCBC photographer, Sue Muller, HCBC photographer and Safe Skies, Deb Jung, Howard County District 4 Council Member, Bonnie Ott and Pam Perna, HCBC photographer, Chuck Stirrat, HCBC Secretary, Marisa Olszewski, former Community and Environmental Sustainability Manager of RNC, Tim Frye, HCBC photographer, Bob Linz, HoCo Chief of the Bureau of Capital Projects, Park Planning and Construction, Sue Probst, HCBC photographer, Gregg Petersen, President, HCBC. (Group picture by Yi Ying Lee.)

Program at Robinson Nature Center Window Remediation Project Social

Congratulations to Robinson Nature Center and Howard County!

We convene here today to say thanks to all those involved in the improvement of the Robinson Nature Center windows for the good of our birds. This is the first remediation project completed for a Howard County government building.

We love this place where the county graciously allows the Howard County Bird Club to convene for our monthly meetings.

For the windows here, it has been an over multi-year process that started back during the design specification and advisory group recommendation phase, but the windows now have measures in place to make them safer for birds-dots, picture films, translucent dots, with the folks gathered here all had a hand in this success.

First, I would like to say thanks to

  • Councilmember Jung, District 4 who directed the funding of the windows
  • Second, HoCo and RNC, who made it happen represented by
    • Bob Linz HoCo Chief of the Bureau of Capital Projects, Park Planning and Construction -4
    • Dawn Thomas HoCo Superintendent of Recreation, Adventure and Nature Division*
    • Shannon Davis RNC Manager
    • Jaimie Wilder RNC
    • Marisa Olszewski, formerly Community and Environmental Sustainability Manager of RNC – 4
  • Safe Skies, who advised on solutions and was a partner with Deb Jung on Safe Skies legislation, represented by:
  • Carolyn Parsa Safe Skies
  • Eli Vogel Safe Skies
  • Sue Muller HCBC/Safe Skies
  • Kurt Schwarz HCBC/Safe Skies
  • HCBC photographers who donated their photography. They provided a selection of 350 pictures: 90 birds, 60 butterflies, 30 other insects, 30 plants, 20 herps/reptiles and amphibians, 20 mammals, and then a second round of 100 pictures of raptors and plants. The pictures were reviewed multiple times by the Robinson staff before what you see here were selected. Not everyone’s pictures were selected, but the bird club and I are no less appreciative of your donation. Also, if your photo art was not selected Shannon tells me that other images may yet be used on film to be sold upstairs here for private home windows. Here are our donors:
  • Annette Allor
  • Guy DiRoma
  • Tim Frye
  • Kevin Heffernan
  • Bill Hill
  • Linda Hunt
  • Clayton Koonce
  • Kathy Litzinger
  • Steve Luke
  • Woody Merkle
  • Sue Muller
  • Bonnie Ott
  • Pam Perna
  • Gregg Petersen
  • Sue Probst
  • Kurt Schwarz
  • Val Swan
  • Kelsey Wellons
  • Jim Wilkinson

Remarks by Gregg Petersen, President Howard County Bird Club

Dawn Thomas HoCo Superintendent of Recreation, Adventure and Nature Division, o Bob Linz HoCo Chief of the Bureau of Capital Projects, Park Planning and Construction, o Marisa Olszewski, formerly Community and Environmental Sustainability Manager of RNC and Gregg (Photo by Suzanne Probst)
Shannon Davis, RNC Director, and Gregg (Photo by Suzanne Probst)
Ed Vogel, Safe Skies, and Gregg (Photo by Suzanne Probst)