I am deeply concerned about the frequent, fatal bird strikes occurring on the glazed façades of the ATSIP building and other facilities at James Cook University’s Townsville campus. These collisions are not isolated incidents; they occur multiple times a week. Community members are now actively documenting these preventable deaths on iNaturalist ("JCU Bird-window Collisions"), creating an undeniable public record of the toll our campus infrastructure takes on local wildlife. 

These collisions cause immense distress to the birds and to the students and staff who witness them. The loud echoes of collisions resonate through the buildings, creating a traumatic and disruptive learning and working environment.

This issue represents a direct threat to our local biodiversity. In Australia, native birds play crucial roles in the ecosystem by pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, and controlling insect populations. While global data from the American Bird Conservancy highlights that window collisions kill up to a billion birds annually overseas, we are seeing the local reality of this crisis right here in Townsville. When these birds suffer due to preventable structural hazards, it damages the local ecological balance. 

The current situation contradicts James Cook University's public commitment to sustainability and conservation. In fact, JCU’s own policies already recognize this hazard: Section 22.11 of the JCU Estate Directorate Design Guidelines (Ecological Sustainable Design) explicitly requires campus infrastructure to integrate design features that avoid bird strikes, referencing established Bird-Safe Building Guidelines. The university is failing to uphold its own standards on its existing structures.

Proven, cost-effective measures exist to fix this. Other global institutions have successfully resolved this issue by installing external retrofits.

We urge James Cook University to take immediate action by implementing the following solutions:
1) Retrofit the ATSIP building and other high-risk glazed facades with bird-safe window films, external anti-reflective decals, or UV-patterned markers spaced no more than 5–10 cm apart.
2) Enforce Section 22.11 of the Design Guidelines on all current high-collision buildings, rather than just applying them to future construction.
3) Collaborate with campus environmental scientists and student researchers to use the iNaturalist data to audit and prioritize the most dangerous collision hotspots on campus. 

Please sign this petition to urge James Cook University to uphold its reputation as a leader in environmental stewardship. Together, we can make the Townsville campus a safe environment for both our community and our local wildlife. Please also fill out this brief Google Form so we can demonstrate the exact number of JCU staff, JCU students, and local supporters backing this campaign when we present it to university management.