Boisterous Birds and Biodiversity
December 04, 2025
Danielle Wozniak
SDG 15: Life on Land
Whether making art or music, hanging out with friends, or having a club event, there’s plenty of room on the Great Lawn. Even in the colder months, there’s always something going on there- and people aren’t the only ones using it.
One winter day while walking back from class, I heard the most boisterous honking of my life coming from above. I looked up to see an immense flock of geese. Truly the most I had ever seen in one place. They were repeatedly circling at a low altitude, trying to find a place to land.
After a few minutes, some of the birds broke off. They angled towards the ground, dozens of feet out like landing gear, and came speeding to a stop onto the fresh snow of the lawn.
Many geese were still circling in the air, still honking loudly, and a small crowd had formed on the sidewalk by the lawn to watch them. The birds took a long time and the crowd thinned. After some time, it was only me and one other person, watching the sky in silence.
By the touchdown of the third round of geese, we couldn’t contain our laughter. We started chatting about the silliness of the situation and continued talking through a few more rounds of landings. The birds grew silent, and we moved on with our day.
I think about that often when I pass the Great Lawn. Especially as the weather gets colder and we see more geese activity, I always keep an open ear for that honking.
Purchase is always trying to make its campus more sustainable and maintain biodiversity. It’s obvious in the spring and fall, when hiking trips, speeches, and conservation events are in abundance.
But we don’t always see what we’re really protecting.
The continued expansion of sustainability at Purchase, from updated building specs in our classrooms to multiplying native plant gardens, is extremely important and being integrated seamlessly into our days.
Although the updates to campus seem routine and continuous, there are a lot of people working hard to make these changes happen. I’m extremely proud of the ongoing work being done by students, staff, and faculty to create and maintain these environmental protections. I’m happy as both a Global Scholar and as a Purchase student that I can volunteer to help where I can.
To me, those geese signify the hard work done by those at Purchase to keep making it a more sustainable place. There are many ways to get involved for those interested, and I’d recommend keeping an eye out for those geese!
2024 Cohort
