Photo by Birdwatching Club member Aaron Ogle.
By Skye I. R. Iwanski
“…BWC is one of the most goofy and welcoming clubs on campus,” according to one of the founders, Nolan Brey.
The club has only one meeting total, in March, the purpose of which is to elect officers for the next year. The objective of the club is to provide a community of folks who appreciate birds and each other.
It has been advertised in the past to freshmen as a very low-commitment club with the one annual meeting not even a requirement. They have two or three larger events that they plan each school year in relation to birding.
When asked why Bird Watching Club was founded, Brey said, “It pretty much started out because I thought that it would be cool to get bird feeders installed on campus. All the avenues I had tried to accomplish this through turned up in dead ends so a couple of friends and myself started BWC in order to get a little more organized and effective.”
Their current goals, besides campus birdfeeders, are to get bird books and a couple sets of binoculars for community use.
“Another big goal that we have is just to make birding more accessible to the typical BSU student,” says Brey.
It doesn’t matter if a student has any experience with birds or bird watching; all skill levels are welcomed in BWC. For more information about the club, check out their page on Beaverlink and their page on Facebook.
According to Brey, “If [you like] getting outside and seeing firsthand some of the amazing wildlife that Northern Minnesota has to offer, Bird Watching Club is for you.”