ABSTRACT THE WILD BIRD CENTER EXPERIENCE: USING BUSINESS AS A CONDUIT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS By Nicole Lee Lewis This paper details my experiences and activities at the Wild Bird Center (WBC) in Mason, Ohio from August 2007 through April 2008. During my first six months at the WBC I served as the staff Environmental Scientist and Store Manager. The purpose of this report is to summarize the contributions I made to the WBC as well as the impacts this position provided to my previous training in the environmental science field. THE WILD BIRD CENTER EXPERIENCE: USING BUSINESS AS A CONDUET FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS An Internship Report Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Environmental Science by Nicole Lee Lewis Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2009 Advisor________________________ (Steve Elliott) Reader_________________________ (Donna McCollum) Reader_________________________ (David Russell) Table of Contents________________________________________________ List of Tables .................................................................................................................................................iv List of Figures................................................................................................................................................ v List of Appendices .........................................................................................................................................vi 1.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................................ 1 2.0 Learning and Growing........................................................................................................................ 2 2.1 Responsibilities ....................................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Birding Products...................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.1 Bird Feeder Basics ..................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 Bird House Basics ...................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Presentations .......................................................................................................................... 7 2.3.1 Out-of-Store Presentations......................................................................................... 7 2.3.2 In-Store Presentations.............................................................................................. 12 2.3.3 Newsletters............................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Eco-friendly Concepts ........................................................................................................... 13 3.0 Impacts of Internship........................................................................................................................ 15 3.1 Impacts of Presentations on Sales ........................................................................................ 16 3.2 Impact of Mailings.................................................................................................................. 17 3.3 Other Advertising................................................................................................................... 18 4.0 The Future ....................................................................................................................................... 19 4.1 Changes................................................................................................................................ 20 4.2 Contributions ......................................................................................................................... 21 5.0 References ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Appendix A: Benchmark Reports................................................................................................................. 25 Spreadsheet 1: Monthly Benchmark Tracking ................................................................................. 26 Spreadsheet 2: Weekly Cumulative Sales and Customer Summary Spreadsheet .......................... 27 Spreadsheet 3: Monthly Inventory Budgeting .................................................................................. 28 Spreadsheet 4: Number of Transactions ......................................................................................... 31 Appendix B: Birding Products...................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 1: Two vs. four sided hopper feeder ..................................................................................... 33 Figure 2: Tube feeder ...................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 3: Basic suet cage ................................................................................................................ 34 Figure 4: Split peanut feeder............................................................................................................ 34 Figure 5: Platform feeder ................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 6: Hummingbird feeder ......................................................................................................... 35 Figure 7: Goldfinch feeder ............................................................................................................... 35 Figure 8: Sanctuary bluebird feeder................................................................................................. 36 Figure 9: Nectar oriole feeder .......................................................................................................... 36 Figure 10: Easy cleaning access ..................................................................................................... 36 Figure 11: Hopper feeder with removable wire bottom tray.............................................................. 37 Figure 12: Ant mote ......................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 13: Nectar guard tip .............................................................................................................. 37 Figure 14: Nesting box..................................................................................................................... 38 ii Figure 15: Roosting box................................................................................................................... 38 Figure 16: Birdhouse with easy open side for cleaning.................................................................... 38 Figure 17: Birdhouse with protective metal plate on entrance.......................................................... 39 Figure 18: Arm predator guard......................................................................................................... 39 Appendix C: Newsletters ............................................................................................................................. 40 November 2007 Newsletter ............................................................................................................. 41 December 2007 Newsletter ............................................................................................................. 42 January 2008 Newsletter ................................................................................................................. 43 February 2008 Newsletter................................................................................................................ 44 March 2008 Newsletter.................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix D: PowerPoint Presentations....................................................................................................... 46 Presentation 1: Backyard Critters and Recycling............................................................................. 47 Presentation 2: Birds, Bugs, and Butterflies..................................................................................... 57 Presentation 3: Parasitic Birds......................................................................................................... 69 Presentation 4: Birds of the Rainbow............................................................................................... 74 Presentation 5: Kids Wonderful World of Birds ................................................................................ 93 Presentation 6: Wonderful Birds of Winter ..................................................................................... 102 Presentation 7: Life Emerging........................................................................................................ 108 Appendix E: In-Store Presentations........................................................................................................... 117 In-store Presentations...................................................................................................................