Assistant Principal Bill Lord and a committee of staff members implemented 400 yards of 10-pound test fishing line across Lancer Plaza in an attempt to prevent the nuisance of seagulls that has plagued Carlsbad High since its opening.

Situated near the beach, students consistently experience bombings of aggressive birds from above, and custodians must deal with the birds scattering food and wrappers throughout Lancer Plaza.

Lord sees the new line as a necessity to protect the new plaza, reduce unnecessary cleaning and convince the birds to go elsewhere.

“It’s a deterrent to keep the birds away, so that they are not picking through our trash, pooping on kids [and] flying around.  It’s a sanitary thing, and it will probably take another week or two before they start to dissipate,” Lord said.  “If we can prevent the trash being picked back out by the birds, it really helps out our custodians because they don’t have to [pick it up again].”

Lord explains that the goal of the new set-up is not to trap the birds, but to deter them from reaching trash cans and the students below.

“What happens is the birds see it, the sun reflects on it and it looks like a net,” Lord said.  “They don’t want to get caught in it.”

For a price well-worth it’s benefits, CHS was able to cut down the number of seagulls coming down into the plaza.

“It’s a low-cost effective strategy to keep the birds out of trash cans and cut down on cleaning,” PE teacher Mr. Tomkinson said.

As they have only been up for a week, results have varied from day to day. With a successful trial, the students and staff should no longer fear walking out into the open battlefield. The monsters have fled.

“In another week or two, we hope that we won’t have birds flying around.  We want to keep our campus clean; we want kids to use our trash cans,” Lord said. “Soon, we will be getting lids for our trash cans so that the birds can’t get into them. We are hoping that it will lead to a cleaner campus.”