BirdSound: enticing urban dwellers to engage with local birds around their home

Many projects seek to engage urban dwellers to learn about local birds. However, many of these projects require some background knowledge that can be difficult to obtain independently. Our project explores how to make engaging with and learning about local birds easier. To do this, we designed and developed BirdSound, a device that engages people to record nature sounds and learn to identify bird species by sight and sound. We conducted contextual interviews with six people living in an urban environment, who were curious but not experienced in birdwatching. These interviews aided in attaining present frame of knowledge held by each participant. Then, we explored how these participants interacted with BirdSound in their homes. BirdSound sparked participants to recount experiences with the device, social interactions and knowledge of birds. BirdSound use required intense focus, and we can envisage more ambient approaches that also support more social forms of learning