Friends of Geese Collaborates with the University of Illinois School of Social Work

Penny Hanna and Viktoria Ford worked with three U of IL seniors during the 2021 Spring Semester. The School of Social Work Community Learning Lab is a course that prepares students for their final internship before they graduate. Three students paired with Friends of Geese to work on multiple projects that would promote the goals of the organization. The projects included creating a spreadsheet of all area HomeOwners Associations. The students used these contacts to promote the Friends of Geese Zoom program that introduced and promoted their work to control Canada geese populations through non-lethal means. Students worked on FOG social media and brainstormed fundraising proposals. Additionally, students created a list of contacts of state wildlife governing bodies in states that might allow for egg depredation using dummy egg replacements. This is a policy change that Friends of Geese would like to see in Illinois. Students created a script of talking points and called the agencies to advance FOG’s research. All classes were held in Zoom except for one where the students me with their instructors at the Independent Media Center to make shields for volunteers who would do egg oiling in the Spring.