Meet Pooja Verma, who built bird boxes that photograph nesting birds every three minutes

Pooja (extreme right) developed solar-powered bird boxes fitted with cameras to track nesting birds (Ohlone Audubon Society photo) A California student has won a first-place award for developing a technology-based project to study birds and support their conservation. Pooja Verma of Fremont was among the winners of the 36th annual ‘A Voice for Animals’ contest organised by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the Humane Education Network.Verma launched a nonprofit organisation, Eco Innovate, to develop bird boxes fitted with solar-powered microprocessors and LED infrared cameras. The cameras capture photographs of nesting birds every three minutes.According to the contest's official website, the photographs are intended to provide information about the behaviour of birds, including their nesting, mating and migratory habits. The project focuses on birds such as tree swallows. The information collected through these cameras can help track bird populations and understand their activities.Verma's project has also reached 10 local schools. Eco Innovate distributed its bird boxes to these schools and organised workshops to teach students how to design and programme them. The organisat...