Image: Bird blind on a raised wooden platform overlooking a calm river and leafless winter trees, set along a wooded riverbank for wildlife observation. Image courtesy of Richmond Parks and Recreation.
BY BRANDON PANENSKY
In 2025, Richmond Parks and Recreation was awarded $700.00 by Indiana Audubon through the Mumford and Keller Grant program for a bird blind project that would give Earlham College biology and ornithology courses a place to make observations and gather data. That data can also be shared with Richmond Parks and Recreation and the surrounding communities.
Once the approval notice was received, we immediately got to work. The funding was used to purchase a composite hunting blind that will last for many years in exposed weather conditions. Students and staff can use the blind to be more comfortable while surveying in harsher weather and to reduce the chance of disturbing wildlife.
Richmond Parks and Recreation covered the cost of hardware and supplied the fuel, tools, and labor. The uphill area from the site was a previously disturbed area, which black locust promptly took over. With an abundance of this singular tree, we cut down less healthy locust trees to use for lumber. Logs had their bark shaved by hand and were milled into boards with chainsaws. Posts and joists were cut to size using other sections.
Posts were brought to the site, an auger was used to make the holes, and the posts were sunk and secured into place. Construction with the locally sourced wood commenced after the boards were soaked with teak oil for longevity. On Jan. 13, 2026, construction finished, with the blind assembled on the constructed platform and a lock installed on the blind for security.
A group of Earlham students and a supervising staff member aided in the tree-harvesting process and the early stages of construction. Copies of the keys will be made and shared with Earlham College ornithology staff and Richmond Parks and Recreation staff, and a collaborative reservation system will be created. Earlham staff is already planning lessons based around the blind for early spring. We cannot wait to see how much they observe!
A huge thank you to the Indiana Audubon Society for funding another project once again. Without you, this collaborative accomplishment would not have been possible.
Image: The new blind in the snow, with a sign reading, “Earlham Birding Bunker.” Image courtesy of Richmond Parks and Recreation.
Indiana Audubon’s Mumford and Keller program funds natural resource research and projects focused on Indiana’s birdlife. This report highlights a project supported in the 2024-2025 grant cycle. Learn more at indianaaudubon.org/mumfordandkeller.
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