Create awareness and build support for the City of Miami Beach as an official bird sanctuary by crafting and installing unique birdhouses in city green spaces and public parks to expand safe habitats for local and migratory bird populations.
The City of Miami Beach is an officially designated bird sanctuary, but there are currently no protected habitats in public parks or green spaces for birds to nest and thrive. Few city residents take the time to consider the wildlife living within a few feet of their homes, believing instead that South Florida wildlife begins in the Everglades.
The Miami Beach Bird Sanctuary Project hopes to develop a series of safe havens for birds throughout Miami Beach’s neighborhoods and parks. The hope is for these habitats to encourage bird species to move out of urban areas and into more naturally suited green space environments. The expectation is that these habitats will also provide places of rest and temporary homes to migratory birds passing through our city.
Many factors affect the natural balance of wild bird habitats, displacing bird populations and forcing them to migrate to areas with unsuitable conditions and unforeseen predators. South Florida’s expanding development footprint impacts our ecosystem and threatens area wildlife. Moreover, increasingly high-velocity storm systems moving through our communities destroy the natural canopy where our smallest creatures live and breed.
“Ecosystem Services” is the collective term for the many ways birds support and improve human life. Birds impact our community and benefit humans in many ways. Some birds are considered insectivores and naturally hunt flies, mosquitoes, beetles and other pests. They contribute to public health, protect our drinking water by preventing erosion, slow the spread of disease, aid in seed dispersal and even contribute financially by enhancing South Florida Ecotourism.
With the natural habitat of birds being reduced each year, providing safe nesting spaces will help support bird populations throughout Miami Beach. Providing artful bird housing in our public parks and green spaces will also build awareness, inspiring mindful conversations about the world around us and our responsibility to protect the abundant natural resources found in every neighborhood.
DETAILS + EXPECTATIONS
The map below features 12 parks and 1 home base as recommended locations for the Bird Sanctuary habitats across Miami Beach’s neighborhoods. To visit any of these park locations use this Google map to get directions : Bird Sanctuary Parks + Green Spaces Map
The photos below show recommended tree spots from 6 of the 12 parks where the birdhouse habitats can be installed.
This option shows a mock-up layout of the birdhouse habitats installed in tightly clustered groups on a more centralized tree location in the park.
This option shows a mock-up layout of the birdhouse habitats installed in a more loosely spaced out configuration across multiple trees within the park.
The two photos below feature extreme examples of option A.
The sketch below represents a concept for a series of wooden birdhouse habitats. The habitats would feature bird themed designs, permanently installed as “living artwork” in neighborhood parks and green spaces across Miami Beach.
Some of the specific design details and elements might include:
The sketch below represents a concept for a wooden informational placard to be used in conjunction with each bird sanctuary habitat. These placards would act as an informational access point to an online portal of resources. Each sign would be equipped with a unique QR code for accessing digital information from a smart device to discover an online library of free, bird-friendly resources.
Library content could include:
The City of Miami Beach's Natural Bird Sanctuary Documentation
Below are additional details about the City of Miami Beach’s policies and links to PDF documentation that define and designate the city as a natural bird sanctuary.