The NC State College of Natural Resources commemorated the extinction of the passenger pigeon as part of Fold the Flock, a national initiative, in the Brickyard Tuesday afternoon.
Monday marked the 100-year anniversary of the death of Martha, the last passenger pigeon. Students gathered to pay tribute to Martha by contributing to a sculpture built in the resemblance of a flock of passenger pigeons.
A campaign that aims to raise awareness regarding the human impact on wildlife, Fold the Flock aims to honor the passenger pigeon in a unique way.
Participants folded origami to resemble the passenger pigeon in remembrance of Martha and the human actions that contributed to the loss of the species.
In addition to being a student-sponsored event, the commemoration of Martha also coincided with the 85th anniversary of the College of Natural Resources.
“The passenger pigeons used to be in flocks by the millions all over the United States when we first settled here and we used them as a food source because we needed food,” said Tiffany McLean, the director of enrollment management for the College of Natural Resources.
Thousands of pigeons were killed and unable to reproduce, according to McLean.
“What we didn’t realize was that the pigeons actually needed to be in clumps in order to be able to reproduce,” McLean said. “Since we were shooting them down the way we were, they were unable to reproduce.”
Such behavior contributed to the extinction of the passenger pigeon, McLean said.
“We saw over the course of several hundred years the complete extinction of an animal species because we did not do our research on exactly what to do to help conserve that species,” McLean said.
The passenger pigeon was one of the largest mass extinctions directly influenced by humans, according to McLean.
“It’s not all that dissimilar from when we were shooting and killing buffalo because we just didn’t necessarily think,” McLean said. “We always assumed there was going to be a plentiful supply without necessarily thinking about the repercussions of the things that we did.”
Even students can make a difference in raising awareness and saving species, McLean said.
“I think we live in a world where we just assume that things are plentiful and we take things for granted,” McLean said. “It’s important for all students, all people, regardless of whether they are majoring in something related to this, to realize that the smallest things can impact our lives.”
The goal of the event was to make 1,000 paper pigeons to help raise awareness.
“I think that events like these are definitely an effective way of raising awareness,” said Aaron Kopp, a freshman in sports management and a participant in Martha’s commemoration. “People see this event and they want to find out what it is.”
Along with Tuesday’s tribute to the passenger pigeon, the College of Natural Resources will also stage other events throughout the semester to raise awareness about conservation efforts and sustainability. These events include a seminar concerning wildlife trafficking on Tuesday, Sept. 9, and a history exhibit featuring the College of Natural Resources on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
