Help to build the BPI Field Station!

What is a Field Station? "Field stations are places where we can read the book

of life in the language in which it was written.“ —James Kirchner, U.C. Berkeley

Biological field stations provide living libraries and outdoor laboratories for students, researchers, and the general public interested in the environment. Help to support the construction of a field station which will attract researchers and their students to conduct projects on Bay Point Island.

Field Stations are always in need of equipment and supplies to support the growing number and variety of research and educational projects. Your donation will support these ongoing projects which will be highlighted on our website and in our quarterly newsletter.

Conservation scientists and researchers have long depended on sound and acoustics to study wildlife, from identifying birdsong by ear in the field, to surveying bats with handheld detectors, to using state-of-the-art remote sound recorders to monitor the sounds of animals and ecosystems. Many animals produce sound for communication and navigation, from birds and bats to marine mammals, fish, amphibians and many invertebrates. By doing this, they broadcast information about themselves into their environment. For researchers, this can offer rich data about where species are, how big their populations are, and what they’re doing. This makes remote sound recorders – often called ‘acoustic sensors’ – potentially a useful, cost-effective way for ecologists to survey wildlife populations, animal behavior and ecological communities.

The wildlife Song Meter is an instrument that is the proven industry standard wildlife audio recording equipment, specially engineered to deliver quality sound recordings of birds, frogs, and other vocal animals in the wild. Working with the Regional Science Consortium and their latest deployment of testing in the field on Bay Point Island, we are hoping to use donated funds towards this campaign to purchase three (3) Song Meter SM4 Acoustic Recorders for continued testing and analyses on BPI.