Borneo Soundscape Project Featured in the New York Times and Die Zeit

Our Kickstarter project “Mapping a Bornean Soundscape” (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1539505154/mapping-a-bornean-soundscape) has received some attention from the scientific community!

The concept of crowd-funding is new and somewhat controversial in science, and we are happy to be part of a small group of scientists testing these waters.  The New York Times article came out in July before this project went live.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/science/12crowd.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2

And the article in the German newspaper Die Zeit came out just last week!

http://www.zeit.de/2011/36/Forschung-Crowdfunding

At the heart of this issue is the fact that fewer and fewer funds are available for scientists to do research.  Cuts to government-funded research and the effects of our current economic woes on private funding have made the grant-writing process extremely competitive, and many very good projects are going unfunded.

I have always striven to ensure the work I do is not only scientifically sound, but also has a broader importance and use to non-scientists.  This mapping project will not only reveal a lot of new scientific information, but it will yield sounds, stories, and knowledge that everyone can benefit from.

Thank you for your support, and please let others know!

– Alison

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Help us survey some of the tallest rainforest in the world – from the canopy!

Hey Folks,

After an extremely successful pilot project, we are now ready to conduct surveys of rainforest birds from the canopy at Tawau Hills Park in Sabah – home to the tallest tropical tree in the world.  You can help us get there by supporting our Borneo Soundscape Project.  Check us out at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1539505154/mapping-a-bornean-soundscape

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Canopy surveys in the rainforest

Hey Everyone,

We recently wrapped up a pilot survey of canopy birds in Sarawak.  This work represents a new direction in our study of Bornean birds (that direction being, UP!).  As we have learned more about the birds that inhabitat pristine and human modified landscapes in Borneo, we realized that we may be missing a lot of information and action in the canopy.  So in March, we launched a pilot study that compares the sites and sounds of Bornean birds simultaneously from the forest floor and the canopy.  Above is a link to a slideshow of research team in action.  We will be posting more information and sounds in the future, so stay tuned.

We are currently trying to raise some funds to survey some of the tallest tropical forest in the world with these methods.  Check us out at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1539505154/mapping-a-bornean-soundscape

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Welcome to Bornean Bird Conservation!

Thank you for visiting our site.  Bornean Bird Conservation is a non-profit organization focused on furthering the conservation of Bornean birds by advancing research and education.  We are just getting going, so stay tuned for more information!

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