Franklin College Professor of Biology Ben O’Neal, Ph.D., was awarded a $1,600 grant from the Amos Butler Audubon Society (ABAS) Birdathon Grant Program for the “Avian Adventures: Explore the Wild Side of STEM” initiative.

Students entering 5^th to 10^th grade in the fall of 2026 can participate in Avian Adventures during CampGRIZ from June 8-12 on Franklin College’s campus this summer. The camp is a five-day summer STEM program, which still has open registration.

Avian Adventures will introduce students to the ecology, biology, and conservation of birds through hands-on activities. The program blends scientific inquiry, field-based learning, and hands-on stewardship activities that connect young people directly to Central Indiana’s bird communities. Students will get to experience birdwatching, practice nature journaling and nature drawing, participate in a bird nest building competition, work with DNR biologists who will demonstrate handling live geese and build duck nest boxes that will be installed at local wetlands. On the last day, the Avian Adventurers will learn from a wildlife rehabilitation team about birds of prey and interact with owls and hawks.

O’Neal said these activities align with the mission of ABAS as they promote enjoyment of birds, public education and stewardship, as well “citizen science,” which students will participate in by submitting their observations to bird databases like Merlin Bird ID and iNaturalist.

“All of these things have, of course, a material cost. The beautiful thing about the grant is that it allows us to acquire the materials to be able to do hands-on things,” O’Neal said. “There’s a cool network and energy from a lot of different partners that the camp allows us, in addition to just the kids, to connect with folks in the conservation world that are doing neat stuff.”

Avian Adventures is also an opportunity for students enrolled at the College to get involved with youth in the community. O’Neal will have two students working with him as CampGRIZ counselors for Avian Adventures. The students are biology major Madalyn Levell of Vevay and education major Madisyn Garris of North Vernon. 

For those interested in learning more about CampGRIZ, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, visit www.franklincollege.edu/campgriz. Besides Avian Adventures, campers can choose between four other hands-on learning experiences: Clay Creations, CSI: Franklin, The ElectroKART Lab and The Newsroom.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.

By: Anna Cecil ’26

Franklin College Pulliam Fellow