# CE; # CON

Project Title: Safe Flight – Education on Preventing Bird Collisions with Glass Surfaces
Project Start Year: 2016
Status: Active
Type: Wild Birds

Project Summary:
This project addresses one of the greatest threats to wild birds: collisions with human-made structures, particularly glass surfaces. Due to their high flight speeds, birds often suffer fatal injuries when striking glass obstacles. Zagreb Zoo is dedicated to making its grounds safer for flying birds by monitoring collision occurrences, recording locations, and assessing the frequency of incidents. Following this assessment, appropriate protective measures are developed for hazardous glass surfaces. A protective film has been created and tested on the most dangerous areas, with plans to offer it to the public.

The zoo’s actions include educating visitors about various threats to wildlife globally, particularly raising awareness of issues impacting local flora and fauna. This project aims to enhance public awareness of the need to conserve and protect local wildlife through specific objectives: educating zoo visitors and the broader community about bird collisions with glass surfaces, providing tools for addressing this issue at home, showcasing best practices within the zoo, and promoting the conservation of local wildlife among students and the general public.

Specific objectives include preparing quality educational materials about wild birds, such as a publication that highlights the importance of wildlife conservation and individual impacts on local species. Best solutions were implemented at critical locations within the zoo to minimize bird fatalities due to glass collisions. Bilingual educational content (in Croatian and English) accompanies these surfaces to emphasize the importance of such solutions and encourage easy implementation at home. The zoo also motivates other institutions to adopt similar measures.

The project aims to foster better connections among staff, external educators, and volunteers, enhancing both quantitative and qualitative outreach in raising awareness about local fauna conservation. It will involve the public, including “citizen scientists,” who can significantly contribute to bird conservation efforts.

To promote wildlife conservation among students, a poster detailing key issues and guidance on how schools and homes can help protect birds has been created. This poster is permanently distributed to every school group participating in the zoo’s educational programs. The project actively involves the Private Artistic High School in Zagreb, where students contribute by developing design ideas for stickers that will be offered to the public as an effective solution for bird collisions with glass surfaces in private and other buildings.

Summary:

Collisions with human-made structures, especially glass surfaces, pose a significant threat to wild birds, which is why the Zagreb Zoo has initiated a project aimed at enhancing bird safety in its area. The project includes monitoring and protecting hazardous glass surfaces, educating visitors about the importance of bird conservation, and collaborating with local schools to develop solutions, such as designing stickers to reduce collision rates.