StrikeFree

App for the mitigation of window collisions to conserve bird populations.

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Inspiration

I was inspired by the pitch given by the Institute for Integrative Conservation (IIC) at W&M. Specifically, I took about an hour to read all of the research that had gone into the development of this product without ever knowing if the app would be seen through, and that compelled me to finish the work that others had started. Knowing that there are graduated students whose work will finally be brought to life made me proud to work on this project.

What it does

StrikeFree is an app designed to educate the public about the impacts of our windows on bird population, as well as to inspire them to be a part of the solution. There are two main features: the StrikeRisk Assessment, which is a series of well-researched questions that aims to narrow down an individual's contribution to the problem of bird collisions, and BirdSave Solutions, a library full of resources to educate an individual on how they can improve their home or business to mitigate future bird collisions.

How I built it

This app was built with React Native using Expo Go. Expo Go allowed me to view the development build on my iPhone, iPad, and laptop while I was creating the project. I coded in TypeScript. I utilized the IIC's Miro Wireframe to understand their product specifications, as well as meeting over Zoom with them.

Challenges I ran into

I spent a lot of time trying to set up a backend server to do user authentication, and eventually decided that the meat of the project wasn't going to get done unless I cut it off entirely. I knew going into the weekend that this was a larger project that was more vulnerable to scope creep, and I definitely spent a lot of time on things that didn't make it to the deadline submission.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

For all of the work that I did that didn't end up in the final project, I got a lot done in the hours that I was working on the project! From the true start of what would become StrikeFree, I would estimate that I worked on it for less than 12 hours, but I still have a great amount to show for it. In fact, at around 11:00pm, I was really considering heading home and going to sleep (seeing that I didn't really have a project), but I'm really proud that I got a good looking app together in the time that I did spend coding. I've used React before, but this is my first time making a React Native App, and that has been a great experience to have.

What I learned

While learning skills during the hackathon is amazing, it's a big ask to learn entirely new skills and create a great project with them. I was expecting to do both this weekend, but scope creep is very real and I should have set my expectations differently. On a more positive note, I also learned how valuable partnering with another organization can be! In the past, I've really only done projects that I thought were cool, but being able to make things for other people has been just as rewarding.

What's next for StrikeFree

I'd love to see the IIC's research and development through to completion! The app currently has the essentials, but students spent a lot of time thinking about what would really make the app pop, and those things would be great to add to StrikeFree in the future.

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