○ Gyeonggi-do Saerogochim Monitoring Group participates in volunteer campaign for coexistence with smaller lives
– Gyeonggi-do Volunteer Center hosts sticker event to reduce bird collision with windows
– Affirming value of life through activities to save birds and realizing public consensus on related policies

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government and the Gyeonggi-do Volunteer Center, together with the Gyeonggi-do Saerogochim Monitoring Group, hosted an event on October 23 for the distribution of stickers to reduce bird collisions with transparent soundproof barriers near the Maesilgyo Bridge area of Homaesil-dong, Suwon City.

This event – part of the “Love Life Volunteering Campaign” of the Gyeonggi-do Volunteer Center – was planned to address the problem of birds flying into transparent sound barriers or building windows in urban areas and included activities to prevent such collisions and reach a public consensus regarding related policies.

Approximately 20 volunteers from the Saerogochim Monitoring Group joined the event and, to help birds recognize and avoid transparent obstacles, attached collision prevention stickers to transparent sound barriers in a 10 centimeter by 5 centimeter grid. The volunteers strictly adhered to COVID-19 guidelines by wearing masks and using hand sanitizer.

“While taking part in this monitoring activity, I learned that over 8 million birds in Korea alone die from window collisions. I’m extremely grateful to be part of efforts to save their lives,” said Seo Yu-jin, a volunteer who attended this day’s event.

Park Seong-nam, Director General of Gyeonggi’s Environment Bureau, said, “The province recently laid an institutional foundation by enacting an ordinance for the prevention of bird collisions, and we hope to reach a public consensus regarding wild bird protection.”

“We hope that our activities to prevent collisions will serve as an opportunity for the culture of Love Life Volunteering to spread throughout the province. We will initiate more activities with residents for the coexistence of nature and people,” added Kwon Seok-pil, Director of the Gyeonggi-do Volunteer Center.

Meanwhile, the Saerogochim Monitoring Group recruited residents in March and completed preliminary training on bird collision theory. Group members have also paid regular visits to trial sites of the province’s bird collision prevention project to monitor bird collisions and record the findings. The group is overseeing the collection of materials on current provincial conditions in terms of bird collisions with windows.