Students Test Materials for a Artificial Nest to Help Save Endangered Birds

April 1, 2019• Community Engagement, Special Projects, Students

Students Test Materials for a Artificial Nest to Help Save Endangered Birds

The Mabula Ground Hornbill project is conservation organisation which aims to reduce the decline of the endangered Southern Ground Hornbill bird. A partnership between the TUT Industrial Design program and the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project began in 2017 with the development of a artificial nest for the Southern Ground Hornbill. This nest has undergone a series of iterations and prototypes are being tested.

The nest is a composite nest made from structural foam and a skin of M1 (http://www.masterworks.co.za/) and natural fibres. During testing it was found that the natural fibres were not strong enough when subjected to the pecking of the birds. Therefore the birds were damaging the prototypes. In order to improve the integrity of the nests, a material testing exercise was undertaken. Second year Industrial Design students were asked to conceptualise a peck-simulation device which could deliver a consistent peck.

The students were then tasked with developing samples using M1 and various fabrics that they could source. These samples were left to fully harden before the samples and pecking-device was taken through to the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project.

During the visit to the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project students got to track down and see a Ground Hornbill Bird. We then went through to the research centre where the existing nest (for the Mabula family unit) is located. Thereafter testing of the samples began. The exact force with which the southern Ground Hornbills peck is unknown (we are investigating measuring it), so we consulted with the conservationists and let the device “peck” a few samples to visually gauge the potential force. A multilayer-composite with two different fabric types and M1 proved to be the better solution, with only minor damage inflicted by the “peck”.

The pecking-device is also going to be “beautified” and made to look more like a southern ground hornbill. It will then be donated to the Mabula Ground Hornbill project for them to use as part of their education program. They will be demonstrating the “pecking” force to school children.

The next phase of the project is to develop a single nest using the new multi-layered fabric and M1 composite. This nest will be tested by letting captive birds occupy and probably peck it. Assuming this nest is successful additional nests will be developed and distributed to various reserves across Southern Africa with the hope of increasing the chance of breeding for these birds.

A special thanks to AMT composites for the sponsorship of the M1 material

I learnt more about the bird,and the precautions needed for making their nest to help prevent them from getting harmed or going extinct.

–Cinderella Mthembo

Such projects broaden your perspective and understanding of why such conservation projects exist in the first place.

-Sihle Gqadu

Our lectures always talked about this project , and I always seemed to just hear about it. But this field trip opened by mind and triggered my interest.

-Lucindy Naude

I learned that we should not just preserve the environment for ourselves but with the wildlife we share it with.

-Denzill Bothma

The fact that we were on-suite when we tested our materials. Made it very enjoyable. Seeing the hornbill in person also gave a measure of context, by showing us what we are trying to save.

-Henk Blankestijn

Learning that testing is really important and therefore continuously working on a project will always be there.

-Lynnette Booysen

This type of project is important because Industrial or product design should not only be centered around people and what we want, but it should be used to fix that what we are destroying. We owe it to nature and the animals

-Marliza Visser

It’s all you could ask for in a school trip. Waking up early is not something people really enjoy, but the excitement was so real that time was not an issue. We were welcomed and hosted so beautifully that we are so grateful for such an amazing experience. We ate, swam, went on game drive and it was all so fun. We hope to go back there soon. Thanks to our lecturers for being involved and including us in such a projects that humble us and reconnects us to nature.

-Onkgopotse Mothibe

TUT Industrial Design students save endangered bird

January 27, 2017• Community Engagement, Special Projects, Students

Original Story

Heinrich Olwage, second-year Industrial Design student adding
some final touches to the nest before placement.

Second-year Industrial Design (3D Design) students at the Tshwane University of Technology, with the help of their lecturer, Kyle Brand, recently took part in an exciting project aimed at saving the Southern Ground Hornbill birds from extinction. The project involved developing a range of concepts for an artificial nest for the birds.

“Initially, students visited the Mabula Private Game Reserve to develop their understanding of the project, the Southern Ground Hornbills and the context where these nests would be used,” says Brand, Industrial Design (3D Design) lecturer. Lucy Kemp, Head of the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, gave them a presentation on the current situation regarding the Southern Ground Hornbills as well as the existing work on the artificial nests.

After the visit, the students worked in groups to develop various concepts using models, drawings and 3D-digital computer models. Upon developing and refining the models, they gave a final presentation with proposed solutions. Elements of the various concepts were then combined to form a single design for the artificial nest.

It was then delivered to the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, where the final touches were added and it was mounted in a tree. The nest was made using a foam core covered with a composite layer of hessian (sack-cloth) and Material 1, a specialised resin and powder supplied by AMT Composites (they sponsored the material for this prototype). Hessian was chosen instead of fiberglass to avoid any adverse effects, s

hould the birds be exposed to it. The durability and strength of the hessian is still being tested with this prototype.

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Brand adds that exposing students to new and different contexts one would not typically associate with design is not only exciting, but a great learning curve. This project was an opportunity to harness the creativity and energy of students to help a non-profit organisation. This is a great way to contribute to conservation and also develop well- rounded graduates.

So far, the prototype appears to be doing quite well. The afternoon after the nest was delivered, the family of ground hornbills living near the Mabula Ground Hornbill project started moving leaves into the nest, indicating that they wanted to move in. Staff decided to remove the nest in order to do further tests before letting the birds move in. Recently, elephants knocked the nest off its platform, and appeared to ‘play soccer’ with it. Luckily the nest was still intact, suffering only a minor tusk dent.

Sydwell Mamabolo, a second-year Industrial Design (3D Design) student who was involved in the project, adds how great the experience was for students: “It was an amazing opportunity to learn. The experience wasn’t only focused on design, but also on animal life. Through our research we got to know the Hornbill bird pretty well. Immediately after the trip we were back into our studio, doing some ground work. It wasn’t easy to design a nest for a bird that big and it meant that a lot had to be taken into consideration. We did it through teamwork.”

Currently, the aim is to further refine and test the nest before developing a system for it to be used all over Southern Africa.

The Industrial Design (3D Design) team at the Mabula
Private Game Reserve studying the Ground Hornbill bird
in order to see how to accommodate its shape and size
when building the nests.

Kyle placing the finished nest safely in a tree.

Kyle Brand, Industrial Design (3D Design) lecturer (left),
working on the nests with his students

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