When high school students are asked what's the best part of science class, many will say it's the field trips. Students enjoy engaging in authentic, community-based science outside the classroom. To capitalize on this, Patrick Willis created the Bird Box Survey Project for his introductory field biology class. The project takes students to a nearby wildlife preserve, where they collect data on tree swallows and make recommendations about the nesting boxes based on their findings. The project not only involves students in inquiry-based science, but also addresses both "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012) and the "Next Generation of Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013). Students generate questions, plan and carry out their own investigations, collect field data, determine independent and dependent variables, and analyze and share their results (Bourdeau 2004). This article describes the Bird Box Survey Project in more detail and how to replicate it.