Audubon of Southwest Florida Awarded $2500 LCEC Grant

Note how unobtrusive and--to our eyes--nearly invisible the dots are, after installation at the Interpretative Center. The red arrow points to a single row of dots. Photo: Robin Serne

Audubon of Southwest Florida thanks LCEC for a $2500 2026 Environmental Funding Award to make the Slough’s Interpretive Center bird-friendly. The project, in partnership with the Friends of Six Cypress Slough Preserve, is now underway.

The project will make the windows and doors at the Interpretive Center “bird-friendly” by installing microdot nature-imaged film and rows of clear dots at two-inch intervals on windows. Both products are science-based proven solutions that prevent fatal bird-glass collisions, which have been documented at the Center. Transparent and reflective glass produce the illusion of space—sky, foliage, etc.—thus the collisions.

The latest research emphasizes the importance of reducing the threats of the built environment to birds. Both reflective and transparent glass kill an estimated 1.28 to 3.6 billion birds each year. A 2019 study found that North America has lost more than 1 in 4 birds in the last 50 years—both threatened and common species.  (www.audubon.org)

The Slough is a jewel in Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 program, a land acquisition and stewardship program designed to protect natural areas for the benefit of everyone in Southwest Florida.

Addressing the glass hazard will make the education building truly “green” and will serve as an educational exhibit for years to come.

The Slough joins other local parks that have updated their building exteriors to be more bird-friendly, including the bird-safe film installations at the Lovers Key State Park Discovery Center and at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. The new Fort Myers Police Headquarters will feature bird-friendly glass, as will Florida Gulf Coast University’s Academic Building 10.

For information on preventing collisions at your home or business, visit the American Bird Conservancy’s collision page or the Bird Collision Prevention Alliance.