Do You Have What it Takes to Customize a Raven Exhibit?

A Step by Step Approach Based on the Macedonia Forest Block Important Bird Area

Introduction:

To navigate through this story map you can either select the section headers above, to jump to that section, or you can scroll through the map.

Our University of Connecticut Natural Resources Academy Conservation Training Partnership (CTP) Project was to assist Marvelwood School and Kent Land Trust in the creation of an interactive Raven Exhibit project about the Macedonia Forest Block Important Bird Area (IBA). The IBA is located near our school in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Specifically, our task was to work with the The Cornell Lab of Ornithology to assemble the exhibit and document the journey via a blog and Story Map.

We also created templates showing organizations how to perform the skills needed to efficiently build content pages; isolate and process acoustic files; and finally, collect and manage data for the project.

The Cornell Blog and template links are available to schools and other organizations and can be found throughout at the end of our Story Map.

We wanted to share our experiences building a Raven Exhibit as an example for others to learn from so they create their own exhibit. We experienced many roadblocks and multiple detours (including a pandemic) during our project’s journey, but we believe our tips and templates; using our project as a model; will be a useful guide for others embark on their own Raven Exhibit journey.

Select the links below to learn more about the community partnerships which joined forces to create this project. Funds to purchase acoustic recorders for this project were generously provided from an Audubon IBA Small Matching Grants Program.

What is a Raven Exhibit?

Original artwork by Joseph Westgate 20' depicting a Raven Exhibit

SPOILER ALERT! “Raven Exhibit” is not a zoo or museum exhibition about the Common Raven (Corvus corax), a rather intelligent bird belonging to the Corvidae family! It is actually the name for an interactive display portal that can provide an immersive and educational experience on a topic of your choice!

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology created software allowing users such as schools, nature centers, museums, and zoos to customize their own Raven Exhibit in order to visualize sound and associate the sound with a particular wildlife species or habitat. Another untapped potential of the software is that it could help museums to creatively showcase their art, music or other collections. Currently, around the globe, more than 20 of these informative exhibits have been installed but there is room for so many more exhibits!

Visitors using the display can listen to the songs and calls of different species, view images and videos, and read narratives to learn more about organisms being featured in the exhibit. There is tremendous flexibility when customizing an exhibit and the design is not restricted to learning just about biological organisms. It can also be used to showcase artwork and historical pieces. The exhibit is capable of displaying content in multiple languages so that people around the world can use this software.

Raven Exhibit 2.0: An exciting tool for education and outreach

Project Partners

Our Exhibit Journey

To navigate through the slideshow bars, just select the arrows at the sides of the image in the show.

Step 1: Select a Topic and Exhibit Themes

Original artwork by Joseph Westgate '20

In our project, we chose to customize our Raven Exhibit about the Macedonia Forest Block Important Bird Area in the northwest corner of Connecticut. We focused on this area as our avian research, mainly through our participation in the Institute for Bird Populations Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Program (MAPS), was instrumental in the designation of the IBA. Please follow the links below to learn more about the MAPS program, IBA and to read the IBA's conservation plan:

Our "Raven Team" decided that our theme would focus on the different habitats found within the IBA. We wanted viewers to learn to associate habitat with different suites of birds. Specifically we focused on the following habitats:

  • Forest Gaps/Open Woodlands
  • Forest Interior
  • Forest Edge
  • Grasslands
  • Inland Wetlands
  • Rivers, Streams and Lowland Deciduous Forests
  • Softwoods
  • Early Successional
  • Artificial Housing, Feeders and Residential Areas
  • Migratory Stopover Habitat

We also wanted to empower people to take action to help birds and showcase our avian research which contributed to the designation of the Macedonia Forest Block Important Bird Area, so we created the following additional sections to include in our exhibit:

  • IBA Introduction
  • Avian Research
  • Call to Action pages

Tips:

Coming up with a concept for your project is not as hard as it sounds! We stuck with the standard project on birds but made it our own by incorporating the IBA concept. You may want to consider making yours about something in your area that is not well known by the public, something you are passionate about, or a problem your area faces. You may have to do some brainstorming for this.

  • Exhibit Option #1 - Keep your project simple. Focus on one group of organisms (e.g birds, frogs) or habitat (e.g. vernal pool, forest, pond)
  • Exhibit Option #2 - Be creative! You may want to consider making your exhibit about something in your area that is not well known by the public, something your school or organization is passionate about, or perhaps a problem your area faces.

Maps of the IBA

To view different maps of the IBA, scroll through the slide show below.

Contact Info

Step 2: Contact Cornell

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Varsity team at the first meeting with Ashik

After coming up with a basic idea for our project we visited Cornell to see a Raven Exhibit in action. We also met with Ashik and learned how to build content pages. Finally we obtained the necessary software keys to initiate our exhibit.

As the project progressed, we periodically Skyped with Ashik regarding our project progress and for advice.

Contact Marvelwood

Marvelwood is also here to help! You can reach us by sending an email to  ravenmentor@marvelwood.org 

Varsity team at the first meeting with Ashik

Project Tips

Check out the slideshow below for a few tips to get your project off the ground.

Step 3: Assemble a Team & Assign Jobs

The team you assemble is key to success and will make a world of difference for the duration of your exhibit building experience! Consider the different skill sets you will need and the people who can bring them to the table. Create a list of team members you will need to recruit; people you trust, know will work hard, or have a passion for the topics you chose. If you are working for or with a school, consider incorporating students from different classes and disciplines. Remember to also consider any outside community resources who also might be able to help with the project.

We asked students from our Ornithology, Environmental Science and Drones in Conservation classes if they were interested in coming aboard! In our community, we looked to local photographers, land trusts, and birders.

Once you've assembled your team, you need to make sure every job is covered. You can do this by assigning a task to each member of your team. Be sure to have back-up experts in each area just in case a team member leaves the project and/or you project falls during an unprecedented world Pandemic forcing the project to take longer than anticipated! Your project might seem daunting during these first few steps, but after you break it up between everyone, it will be so much easier!

Here are a few examples of our team members engaged in their jobs during the course of the project:

Meet the Team Leaders:

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Banders & Birders

We recruited students to help Ms. Doss band birds and go birding within the IBA. Several students helped with the Institute for Bird Populations MAPS banding stations over the summer.

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Acoustic Deployment Specialists

Our acoustic deployment specialists enjoyed hiking in the woods so they often made the long tracks to set and retrieve the recorders.

Joseph Westgate original artwork

Artists

Our artists created illustrations for various portions of our exhibit. From bird drawings to sketches for our blog, these talented team members did not disappoint!

Original artwork by Maddie Paddock '21

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Photographers

Photographers used cameras, drones, and a 360 camera to take photos for our project. Local photographer, John Clery, was also nice enough to help use out and supply some photos!

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Bird Song Technicians

Bird song technicians helped us isolate bird calls from our bioacoustics recordings and identify them. BirdNET was an especially helpful tool in the identifying process. The software automatically identified calls for us, which cut out the time it took to do it ourselves.

Example of a Cerulean Warbler Isolated from a Recording and Processed in Audacity

Example of a Broad-winged Hawk Being Mobbed by an American Crow Isolated from a Recording and Processed in Audacity

Original artwork by Joesph Westgate

A sample of a processed sound file.

Using BirdNET to identify birds from isolated recordings

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Technology Experts

We also had a group of technology lovers to help us with drones, editing, and more photography.

Writers & Researchers

We used writers to complete bird profiles ahead of time, this way we could simply copy and paste our information into the content creator. Team writers were given a standard template to follow so that the information we received would be consistent. Writers were also encouraged to use The Cornell Lab All About Birds Website to gather information about birds.

Mapmakers

Our mapmakers helped us create maps of the IBA and different recording locations in and just outside of the IBA. Ms. Doss condensed the different shared student maps into one Google Map. Initially the data used to create the map came from stored compass screenshots but then we figured we could organize our deployment and photography data better by creating and using and EpiCollect5. This was important as the names of the recording sessions and/or photo sessions was how we organized our files.

Data Collection

Step 4

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Collecting data is the main and one of the most important parts of this project. Once you have come up with an idea for your project and have gotten the Product Key from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, plan how you are going to conduct research and/or collect materials.

We recommend gathering as much information as possible before you begin building, this way you can organize your data in the beginning and not have to worry about missing pieces. Organization is key in this project! Although it can be tedious, the work you put in at the start will all be worth it later.

At Marvelwood, we have been banding birds for years. This was extremely helpful with out data collection for our bird project. We used a lot our own photos and data, which we were also able to use in other projects later on (such as a grant from Audubon Connecticut)! Look at historical data as well, which was helpful in our process by letting us compare the growth or decline of habitats and bird populations over the years. We also used acoustic data, which allowed us to identify birds without being in the field. However, sifting through these files can take a long time.

Data Organization

Step 5

Before you begin, take this warning! If you do not stay organized, you may struggle with this project! Staying organized is arguably the most important steps to creating a Raven Exhibit. We recommend using Google Drive to organize your work. It allows you to easily share your data with your whole team and keep everything neat. A spreadsheet is also helpful for keeping your information organized and easily accessible.

We used Google Drive to create a master folder, which we then broke down into folders for each team member's assignments, habitats, and other topics. Bigger folders, such as the habitats, got broken down further into the birds that would go under them in the finished exhibit. Once we had all the folders we needed, we were able to quickly sort and find data. We also used a spreadsheet to see what information we had and what we still needed.

In the photos below, you can see our organizational system. The first two photos are of our bird photos named by their 4-letter species alpha code, the second photo is of our Google Drive folders for each area of the project and each habitat, and the last two photos show our habitat folders and bird profiles separated into each habitat.

Step 6: Worth Repeating...Stay Organized!

We mean it. When we began, we had a mess of files, photos, and profiles. It was slow going when we were held back by the amount of time needed to find specific pieces of data. Make sure you have an organizational system that you know works and each of your team members is aware of as well.

You may find that you need to reorganize your data at some point (or points!) throughout your work on your project. As you get further into it, you may add members to your team or realize you need data you didn't think about before, which may call for some reorganization. If this does happen, just make sure every member of your team is aware of the changes.

Customizing Exhibit Pages

Step 7:

Building an exhibit page

Start with a template! This is also an important step in the process of organization. A template ensures all of your content pages, or slides, will be consistent and have the same format.

You can begin by picking the font and layout you think looks best. We chose Nunito Sans for our text and a similar format as the one Cornell used. We also recommend naming your template Template so you know what it is. We did this on both the main stage and when we saved it. Remember to save often throughout the creation of your project!If your project consists of categories and subcategories, setting your menu location is also a good idea. You can organize your subcategory slides into your different categories to keep everything nice and neat. For us, we organized each bird slide into a habitat, the same as we did when we were organizing our folders. This doesn’t necessarily apply to the template, as your menu location can change, but it is still good to keep in mind!

Next you should decide what popup information you want to include. Tabs are useful for putting in extra facts without crowding up the main stage. For our bird project, we used tabs such as Behavior, Diet, Conservation Status, etc. They should stay the same for every page even if you do not have information for a tab. You don’t have to worry about a slide looking unfinished if there is no information in a tab, because the section won’t show up on the finished display if there is nothing written in it.

This is an example of our Raven Template

This is a completed Raven Exhibit page made using the template

MAPS Banding data came in handy when documenting many species such as Cerulean Warblers.

MAPS Banding data was especially helpful when trying to document difficult to find species such as this Winter Wren.

Once you’ve created your template, you can use it for every slide you need to make. It is so helpful to have during the building process! Add photos, sounds, and maps! Don’t forget to add a caption and credits. 

When you've completed your template, you will be extra ready to create every content page for your project! Use your template as the base for each, and it should be smooth sailing.

  • Tip: We also recommend building/having designated team members build your content page information in advance. We built each bird profile and edited it on a separate doc, then simply copied and pasted the information into the slide, which made the process go even quicker.

The Tutorial Below Illustrates How to Customize a Page

Customizing a Page in Raven Exhibit

Step 8: Develop Resilience

At times, the process can get a little tedious. Building content slides was monotonous but required constant attention. Collecting data and building profiles in advance was time consuming. After working on our Raven Exhibit for months and months, there was a point when it seemed it would be never ending. But we pledged not to give up! We got a few more people on our team, planned another trip to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and kept on going!

Step 9: Secure Computer(s) for Preview and Public Display

At last we were nearing the end of our project! One of the things left to do was obtain a computer that we could preview our work on before calling it done, and secure screens and places to display our exhibit. ..

Step 10: Assemble the Exhibit with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

STAY TUNED! Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, this phase of our project has been delayed and instead of traveling to Cornell to assemble all the exhibit pieces into the software to load onto a computer we need to do this remotely. We are hoping to premier the actual exhibit in October of 2020.

Step 11: Celebrate Your Accomplishment

Tutorials/Resource Links

Recording Equipment Tips & Tricks: Field Recorders, Data Storage & Data Processing.

Recording Equipment Tips & Tricks

How to Edit Bird Calls and Sounds in Audacity

How to Edit Bird Calls and Sounds in Audacity

How to Edit Bird Calls and Sounds in OcenAudio

How to Edit Bird Calls and Sounds in OcenAudio


Acknowledgments

These are all the people and organizations who helped us with our project. We are grateful to each and every person and/or organization.

Ashakur Rahaman

Research Analyst from  Cornell Lab ’s Center for Conservation Bioacoustics (CCB) for assisting us throughout this process

Nicole Freidenfelds

UCONN NRCA CTP program leader

CTP Staff

UCONN NRCA CTP program  https://nrca.uconn.edu 

Laurie Doss

CTP Project Mentor, Marvelwood School & Kent Land Trust

Institute for Bird Populations

 https://www.birdpop.org  Ongoing support for our MAPS banding stations. Our MAPS data was instrumental in allowing the area to be designated as an Important Bird Area.

John H. Clery

Contributed many wonderful photos to our project  JHCleryphotography.com 

Frank Gallo & Publishers

Permission to use habitat sections from Birding in Connecticut in our exhibit

Olaf Soltau, Monica Nichols, and Severin Uebbing

Birders in State who helped verify some of our acoustic files.

Able Zhou, Odin Berdsly, Oliver Sanchez and Edward Duffy

UAV (Drone) Photography

Joseph Westgate, Max Benn, George Ryan, Oliver Sanchez, Lawrence Mashburn Laurie Doss and Hannah Records

Student & Faculty Photographers

Charlie Oldfield, Vedant Gattani and Keshav Tiwari

Round Square Exchange students who helped with project.  https://www.roundsquare.org 

Brennan Wilkins, Ingrid Appen (Kent Land Trust Intern), Max Benn, Olivia Pignataro, Laurie Doss, Oliver Sanchez, Lawrence Mashburn and MingYue Cai "Crimson"

Acoustic Specialists

Aiden Cherniske & Lawrence Mashburn

Audio, Video and Computer Tech Specialists

Original artwork by Joseph Westgate 20' depicting a Raven Exhibit

Original artwork by Joseph Westgate '20

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Varsity team at the first meeting with Ashik

Varsity team at the first meeting with Ashik

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Joseph Westgate original artwork

Original artwork by Maddie Paddock '21

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Original artwork by Joesph Westgate

A sample of a processed sound file.

Using BirdNET to identify birds from isolated recordings

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Joseph Westgate '20 original artwork

Building an exhibit page

This is an example of our Raven Template

This is a completed Raven Exhibit page made using the template

MAPS Banding data came in handy when documenting many species such as Cerulean Warblers.

MAPS Banding data was especially helpful when trying to document difficult to find species such as this Winter Wren.