Keep ‘Em Cool: Ceramic Seabird Habitat

Since 2009 I have worked with Oikonos to design and fabricate nest modules for eight different seabird species that are threatened by climate change, predators and habitat degradation. Oikonos is a non-profit ecology and conservation organization working to restore seabird habitat on Pacific Islands including Año Nuevo Island, Farallon Islands, Oahu, Maui, Santa Barbara Island, Santa Rosa Island and Alcatraz Island. At California College of the Arts, I taught several interdisciplinary classes for students to participate in this design process and build prototypes for the Cassin’s Auklets on Año Nuevo Island. In 2021 Oikonos and I were awarded a grant from the Wildlife Conservation Society: Climate Adaptation Fund to scale production of these ceramic nest modules. To date we have installed 500+ nest modules for eight different species on nine Pacific Islands. This project was recently featured in an SF Standard article titled, “Seabirds are burning up along California’s coast. Can man-made nests save the species?”.