At 15, she began engineering a new home for hornbills.
Proud’s love for hornbills began on a fourth-grade field trip to Khao Yai National Park, where she saw the birds for the first time. Years later, at 15, she returned to the same forest to understand why these birds were declining in population.
What she learned changed everything
Walking through the forests alongside park rangers and a researcher from the Thailand Hornbill Research Foundation, Proud learned that 51 of the world’s 62 hornbill species are declining in population due to habitat loss from deforestation and poaching. Since hornbills cannot build their own nests, they rely entirely on natural tree cavities -- nesting sites that are becoming increasingly scarce.
Great Hornbill in Khao Yai National Park, where Proud first encountered hornbills in the wild.
So she decided to build a new home herself
Existing artificial nest designs all had limitations. Some were unsafe, some were not long-lasting, and others did not meet the hornbills' behavioral needs. So, Proud set out to design a new one. That decision marked the start of Homes for Hornbills.