Cohabitation of men and animals –
A start-up makes grebes nest outside boats
The company Birds&Co has found an innovative solution to prevent boaters from having their boat immobilized by a bird’s nest.
The tests carried out in the port of Vidy proved successful.
BIRDS&CO – DR
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BotTalk
A boat immobilized in port by a bird. At first glance, the image may seem absurd. And yet, many boaters on our lakes have already experienced a similar situation. Because if a bird builds its nest in a boat, it can no longer cast off until the little ones have set sail.
A start-up born from the collaboration between EPFL and ECAL has just found the solution to this problem of cohabitation between man and nature. Birds&Co has in fact developed a solution which should make it possible to resolve this growing conflict between the protection of waterbirds and nautical activities: a floating platform which simply needs to be secured to a quay or pontoon.
If all the lakes are basically affected, Lake Geneva is particularly affected. “There are only 26% of banks left in their natural state. This forces many species to nest in ports,” notes Jérémy Suchet, co-founder of the start-up. This is particularly the case of the great crested grebe – an emblematic bird of our lakes, potentially threatened – but also of the coot.
The cork platform measures approximately 50 centimeters by 50 centimeters.
BIRDS&CO – DR
And it is often on pleasure boats that these birds find a suitable place to nest between the months of March and September. “However, Swiss law protects nests as long as they are occupied, the owners find themselves deprived of their boat for around thirty days, in the summer,” he continues.
Conclusive tests
For this academic project, the master’s student in robotics at EPFL teamed up with Jeremy Loup, himself a student in industrial design at ECAL. And it is in collaboration with ornithologists and boat owners that they developed “Léman 1”. Made from cork – a material with a negative carbon footprint – the 50 centimeter by 50 centimeter platform was installed last spring in the port of Vidy.
“The tests exceeded our expectations, since three broods of great crested grebes were able to take place in this alternative habitat without hindering human activities,” says Jeremy Loup. The prototype having therefore proven itself, the co-founders of Bird&Co, supported by the Foundation for Technological Innovation, launched a two weeks ago crowdfunding campaign on Wemakeit.
The two students hope to be able to launch a first production of units next spring, the estimated selling price of which is 189 francs. “Its cost could drop depending on the number of pieces to be produced,” continues Jérémy Suchet.
If Lausanne participated in the test phase, the start-up is in contact with other municipalities and associations in Lake Geneva, such as the Geneva Basin Ornithological Group.
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