Every year the Nationwide Audubon Society supplies two varieties of grants to Audubon chapters initiatives that contribute to Flight Plan, Audubon’s 2023-2028 strategic plan. Flight Plan’s Neighborhood Constructing milestone goals to drive widespread public motion by increasing the constituency of people that care about and take motion for birds. Supporting Audubon chapters—each group and campus chapters—is a vital approach to meet this purpose. By supporting their efforts, we’re impacting extra communities and constructing the following conservation leaders.
Profitable grantees of the late 2024 cycle proposed initiatives that confirmed clear pathways to success in advancing a number of of Audubon’s Flight Plan milestones and centered an inclusive and community-oriented strategy to conservation. Audubon prioritized initiatives that included a various cohort of group companions and genuine companion engagement, advocacy, and a transparent plan on find out how to construct coalitions and enhance engagement with every chapter’s local people members.
This cycle, Audubon supplied $428,800 in Audubon in Motion funding to 45 totally different campus and group chapter initiatives. Of that sum, $124,750 had been awarded to 14 campus chapters, and $304,050 had been awarded to 31 group chapters. Initiatives from 21 states and two territories had been represented among the many award recipients. The awarded initiatives are summarized under.
Audubon in Motion Grant Initiatives
Tucson Chook Alliance—Tucson, Arizona
In efforts to welcome a extra numerous vary of individuals into the follow of birding, Tucson Chook Alliance will present certifications in discipline management to eight youth from traditionally marginalized communities to grow to be birding journey leaders and pay them for his or her time. At first of this program, youth will be a part of birding journeys led by birding journey leaders from totally different organizations, together with these from Feminist Chook Membership and Tucson Chook Alliance, to expertise totally different types of management. After receiving further coaching, youth will lead walks for one another and independently inside their very own group. On the finish of this system, they’ll lead a visit for most people in Madera Canyon. By way of this program, they hope to share the enjoyment and well being advantages of birding with traditionally marginalized communities, elevate youth as leaders inside their communities, and diversify the present cohort of birders in Tucson.
Golden Gate Chook Alliance—Berkeley California
Golden Gate Chook Alliance’s Birding for Everybody Fellowship is now accepting purposes for its third yr. Every year, 10 fellows are chosen to obtain free courses, mentorship, and group constructing get-togethers for one yr. The mission of the Birding for Everybody Fellowship is to develop and empower the following era of Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour conservation leaders. They try to develop and elevate conservation leaders of colour to higher serve their communities and their collective birding group. The Birding For Everybody Fellowship eliminates each the monetary and social obstacles to participation of their grownup schooling choices, together with the Grasp Birder Program, which they run in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences. Over the course of their one-year fellowship the cohort turns into a group inside their bigger group, supporting one another as they develop into chicken and nature leaders.
San Diego Chook Alliance—San Diego, California
Sharing Our Shores (SOS): Mission Bay is a multi-tiered program that accomplishes roughly 5 acres of habitat restoration whereas instructing third —4th grade college students about native migratory and coastal birds within the native habitat of Mission Bay in San Diego. By way of in-class classes, restoration occasions in coastal habitats, and creation of conservation-themed indicators which might be hung across the bay and seen by hundreds of thousands of annual guests to the bay, college students will find out about and take motion to enhance nesting habitat for the endangered California Least Tern and Gentle-footed Ridgway’s Rail, and can discover the historical past and ongoing connection of the Kumeyaay Indian Nation to Mission Bay’s natural world. The chapter’s targets are to encourage roughly 250 college students to affix of their ongoing conservation and advocacy work in Mission Bay and to reconnect Indigenous voices to this coastal house.
Morro Coast Audubon Society—Morro Bay, California
Thanks partially to the funding supplied by Audubon in Motion, the chapter launched an revolutionary new outside STEM schooling program referred to as FEATHER (Fostering Environmental Consciousness By way of Excessive College Training and Analysis). FEATHER engages highschool college students in underserved communities in group science and environmental analysis, empowering them to take part in native, regional, and international conservation initiatives. This system combines hands-on analysis with main greater schooling establishments and a college-readiness curriculum, fostering relationships with nature and the outside whereas making ready college students for impactful futures after highschool. Along with educational preparation, FEATHER integrates conservation work with native collaborators, the place college students achieve sensible, hands-on expertise in environmental stewardship. By inspecting land relationships via a number of lenses—scientific, cultural, and sensible—college students develop a complete understanding of environmental points and the abilities they should navigate their academic and profession pathways as environmentally well-informed residents.
Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society—Palos Verdes, California
California’s coastal sage scrub is among the nation’s most biodiverse, but additionally most endangered, habitats. As much as 90 p.c of this vital habitat has been misplaced to improvement. This challenge will interact highschool college students to work in coastal sage scrub habitat to extend the amount and high quality for particular standing species. These species embody the California Gnatcatcher, Palos Verdes blue butterfly, and El Segundo blue butterfly. Audubon in Motion funding will permit them to proceed their Youth Environmental Stewards (YES) program. By way of this program, college students may have the chance to see birds in coastal sage scrub habitat, the chapter will train them the significance of habitat connectivity for sustaining wholesome populations and amplify their delight for having restored vital habitat. By way of the utilized studying of planting native species, figuring out resident birds, and observing pure interactions throughout the coastal sage scrub group, they hope to instill a lifelong curiosity in conservation for his or her YES program contributors.
Plumas Audubon Society—Quincy, California
Plumas Audubon Society (PAS)’s Aechmophorus Grebe Monitoring & Advocacy challenge addresses the conservation concern of Western Grebes, an Audubon precedence species, in addition to Clark’s Grebes, and their habitat at Lake Almanor, Antelope Lake, and Lake Davis. Lake Almanor helps the second-largest colony of breeding Aechmophorus grebes in California, making it a vital breeding space for these declining species. Though smaller in measurement, Antelope Lake and Lake Davis are additionally vital breeding grounds for Western and Clark’s grebes. Between 2010 and 2019, PAS monitored grebes at Lake Almanor, Antelope Lake, Lake Davis, and Eagle Lake throughout a challenge that was funded by Audubon. This work has continued via 2024 and has allowed PAS to keep up one of the constant information units representing the inhabitants dynamics of the 2 species of their area.
Channel Island Birders at California State College—Channel Islands—Camarillo, California
The Channel Island Birders at California State College—Channel Islands have a remedy backyard devoted to the scholars on campus. This Audubon on Campus chapter has prioritized enhancing the house for endemic birds by offering chicken housing, in addition to including a greenhouse, and enhancing their present software shed. One other challenge that the Channel Island Birders have underway is creating software program to assist scholar analysis initiatives to gather information on chicken strikes. In alignment with our Neighborhood Constructing milestone, the Channel Island Birders will go to Rio Actual Elementary College, a Title 1 college, the place they intend to ship a presentation centered on seasonal chicken information, concluding a with dialogue encouraging environmental stewardship. To strengthen key ideas, they’ll facilitate a structured, aggressive quiz that permits contributors to exhibit their data whereas incomes prizes. Moreover, they search to acquire funding to assist art-based initiatives designed to boost environmental studying experiences for school-aged youngsters.
5C Birding Membership at Claremont Faculties (Claremont McKenna School, Har Mudd School, Pitzer School, Pomona School, and Scripps School)—California
The Audubon in Motion Grant will assist the 5C Birding Membership at Claremont Faculties be extra accessible to new birders, promote activism on campus, and allow college students to take part in conservation analysis. First, to permit new birders to affix their membership and take part without cost, they’ll get a set of binoculars that may be checked out by membership members and a scope and digicam that they’ll deliver on their membership chicken walks. Subsequent, they’ll work in the direction of decreasing window collisions on campus by buying window decorations to interrupt up the reflection on the home windows of buildings that they’ve recognized as essentially the most problematic. Lastly, they’ll create everlasting chicken banding research on the Bernard Subject Station, one of many few remaining pristine coastal sage scrub habitats. Funds may also be used to offer work-study alternatives to college students, so that each one college students can take part in conservation analysis.
Conservation Membership at Grossmont School—El Cajon, California
This challenge will create a public nature path on the Grossmont School campus. The Conservation Membership will design and set up interpretive signage on all 5 of Grossmont School’s native plant gardens that characterize totally different habitats and their makes use of in essentially the most biodiverse county within the nation. A Kumeyaay Tribal consultant will present info on the names, usages, and historical past of the native vegetation. The indicators may have scannable QR codes that may instantly hyperlink to an internet site offering a nature stroll map, all plant names (frequent title, Latin binomial, and Kumeyaay title) related to an image, and extra historical past/info. The Grossmont School Nature Path will present underrepresented college students and the local people with an out of doors interactive classroom to have interaction with nature whereas studying in regards to the native impacts of local weather change, preserving native habitats and species, and increasing data about Kumeyaay makes use of and names.
Chook Alliance at Metropolis School, San Diego Metropolis School—San Diego, California
Chook Alliance at Metropolis School is doing extra schooling and work on local weather change. They need to work with group companions to do initiatives in educating the general public on the significance of wetlands to the birds as local weather change buffer habitat. Subsequent is for Vegetation for Birds initiatives in the neighborhood. They need to work with different group organizations to create and fund native plant gardens for birds. Third, they’ll maintain city-wide coaching in advocacy, inviting the scholars from all of the campus chapters. They may invite workers from San Diego Chook Alliance to coach college students in advocating for birds with native management and creating PROs that assist birds and native habitat. They may produce a PRO in every of the communities of their campus chapters that match and produce folks collectively as a bigger county to guard birds. Lastly, they despatched college students to the Audubon Management Convention in Montréal.
DC Chook Alliance —Washington, DC
DC Chook Alliance will arrange BIRDS CONNECT DC: A Wildlife Pictures Convention for Youth, the place eight younger artists, one from every ward of Washington, DC, will likely be mentored by two of the chapter’s skilled wildlife photographers. This free, multi-day convention will consist of 4 half-day classes of classroom instruction with the tools, visitor audio system highlighting academic and profession paths within the pure and environmental sciences, and discipline journeys to {photograph} wildlife. DC Chook Alliance is proud to have already secured two artwork displays and installations for his or her Alpha Class to have fun their artwork. The chapter believes this invitation to discover nature via artwork encourages the following era of conservationists to strategy nature with the creativity that options to species and habitat preservation require. This challenge’s influence will proceed constructing bird-friendly communities in all eight wards of DC and encourage younger folks to grow to be leaders within the conservation efforts of their communities.
Tropical Audubon Society—Miami, Florida
Tropical Audubon Society’s award-winning Tropical Audubon Ambassador Program has skilled lots of of environmental advocates, empowered voices, educated about South Florida ecosystems, and knowledgeable local weather motion steps. Whereas this program succeeds in constructing partnerships and fascinating cross-generational advocates of ages 18+, there was a evident hole: younger advocates. Due to assist from the Audubon in Motion Grant, in Summer time 2024, they bridged this hole by launching their first Excessive College Ambassador Program: Bending the Curve. This system supplies skilled panelist Q&A classes, hands-on immersive studying, group service hours, and advocacy instruments. The chapter’s purpose is to empower a caring, numerous, and efficient South Florida group to advocate for the area’s pure ecosystems and interact in local weather motion by realizing the ability of their voices.
West Volusia Audubon Society—DeLand, Florida
Stetson College’s Sandra Stetson Aquatic Heart, residence to the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience, is a two-story facility that includes expansive views via reflective glass home windows. Sadly, reported chicken strikes have been rising, and there’s a want for dot-grid patterned window movie to forestall strikes by rising visibility for birds. With its established environmental management in the neighborhood, the Aquatic Heart is a perfect public demonstration web site. West Volusia Audubon Society’s proposal builds on strong partnerships and engages native stakeholders, together with the Spring Hill Resilience Staff—a bunch of 30 residents inside an impacted group, devoted to enhancing its resilience—in addition to Stetson’s Audubon on Campus chapter. By way of window movie set up, participatory workshops, academic signage, citizen science mapping, a challenge video, and a library of mannequin ordinances, West Volusia Audubon Society goals to unite numerous audiences round city conservation, local weather motion, coverage development, and group constructing efforts that profit each birds and other people.
Birds Georgia—Atlanta, Georgia
The Birds Georgia “Birds For All” (BFA) program supplies inclusive birding packages to people, prioritizing areas which might be low-income, predominantly Black or folks of colour, and have low engagement in avian group science. By providing tailor-made packages for traditionally underrepresented communities, they intention to make sure birding is an area the place everybody can belong. BFA focuses on three key teams: these with accessibility wants, youth and younger grownup age teams, and traditionally underserved communities. Every collaborating companion should tackle one (or extra) of those areas to take part in a BFA program. Birds Georgia’s outreach is intentional, creating conscious birding experiences that resonate deeply inside these communities. With a dedication to fostering a various and welcoming birding group, their purpose is to interrupt down obstacles and interact new audiences in Georgia.
Marianas Audubon Society—Tamunung, Guam
Islan Dåno’ (Cocos Island) is certainly one of Guam’s biodiversity hotspots and acts because the final native refuge for endemic species such because the Guam Rail and the Mariana Skink. Till not too long ago, Islan Dåno’ was believed to be freed from invasive brown tree snakes, which devastated a lot of Guam’s native wildlife. In 2020, nonetheless, snakes had been discovered on Islan Dåno’, placing its distinctive species in danger. Since 2021, Marianas Audubon Society has been supporting community-led snake elimination from Islan Dåno’. The chapter goals to proceed that work and try for the eventual eradication of brown tree snakes from the island.
Higher Iowa Audubon Society—Fayette, Iowa
In collaboration with the Iowa Division of Pure Sources, the Higher Iowa Audubon Society, and the Audubon on Campus chapter at Higher Iowa College search to ascertain a Motus wildlife monitoring tower on the Volga River State Recreation Space in northeast Iowa. This may assist researchers from throughout the Americas observe the passage of birds as they migrate via the area alongside the Mississippi Flyway. It can additionally assist talk how necessary the habitat this public space supplies to not solely migratory birds but additionally the breeding forest birds, grassland, and wetland birds of northeast Iowa that nest within the 6,000-acre property. Lastly, the acquisition of Motus tags and a handheld receiver will join college students and group members with the analysis course of, involving them in chicken banding and Motus tagging.
Chicago Chook Alliance—Chicago, Illinois
Chicago Chook Alliance, together with key companions, will prepare new discipline journey leaders who characterize the various backgrounds of Chicago and assist these new leaders in partaking historically underserved communities in birding actions at lakefront parks. This challenge will prepare 30 new discipline journey leaders, together with at the very least 25 Black and brown leaders, thereby rising the variety of discipline journey leaders in Chicago. It can put together them to coach communities in regards to the birds and habitats that share the house. The coaching may also incorporate the environmental historical past of Chicago and its waterways, and the conservation points that birds face when migrating. The lakefront, rivers, and banks in Chicago present the area’s richest useful resource for the migratory birds that go via by the hundreds of thousands every spring and fall. Chicago Chook Alliance wish to make this useful resource extra accessible to the entire space’s residents.
Sinnissippi Audubon—Rockford, Illinois
Sinnissippi Audubon, the Metropolis of Rockford, and the Rockford Space Arts Council (RAAC) will companion collectively to give attention to birds, local weather change, and constructing group. Every summer time, RAAC provides alternatives within the arts for youth within the Rockford area. The SPARK! Construct: Mosaic supplies an intensive, hands-on, skill-building apprenticeship program to youths who exhibit an curiosity within the arts. Youth will work intently with nationally acknowledged mosaic artist, Susan Burton, within the planning, development, and set up of a public sculpture. The scholar’s mosaic work will likely be acknowledged publicly by Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara. Moreover, there will likely be everlasting signage put in with a SPARK! Mosaic tribute. The summer time 2025 program will give attention to chicken mosaics that will likely be put in all through the group, together with Rockford Metropolis Corridor. This challenge will spark curiosity in birds of their group. Signage will present schooling in regards to the challenge, birds, and the threats of local weather change.
Scholar Sustainability Council at Indiana College Kokomo—Kokomo, Indiana
The continued Inexperienced Horizons Initiative at Indiana College Kokomo focuses on chicken conservation and habitat restoration via sensible, community-driven efforts. This challenge goals to boost chicken monitoring capabilities by buying important banding tools, chicken meals, and feeder attachments, permitting college students to trace avian populations and their habitats extra successfully. In tandem, they’ll restore vital bird-friendly environments on campus by eradicating invasive species and planting native timber and vegetation, creating sustainable refuges for native chicken species. Partaking college students, workers, and group members in hands-on conservation initiatives is not going to solely enhance biodiversity but additionally foster environmental stewardship. By combining schooling, habitat restoration, and monitoring, the Scholar Sustainability Council goals to bolster chicken populations, enhance consciousness of conservation efforts, and create lasting ecological advantages that align with Audubon’s Flight Plan and conservation targets.
XULA Geaux Inexperienced at Xavier College of Louisiana- New Orleans, Louisiana
XULA Geaux Inexperienced’s (XGG) plan for 2024-2026 is to construct a conservation group via Birding Nature Hikes. These hikes present new Xavier college students with an introduction to birding and enrich the expertise for extra seasoned birdwatchers, all whereas cultivating a rising group of chicken and nature fanatics on campus. The Swamp Excursions and nature conservation excursions provide highly effective academic experiences, enabling XGG to spotlight the ecological significance of wetlands, prairies, and forests for chicken populations whereas additionally demonstrating revolutionary habitat administration practices. Recycling and upcycling initiatives will assist deliver collectively numerous companions, from college students to native companies, making a coalition working in the direction of conservation targets. XGG will institute clothes drives to recycle, thrift days to reuse, and host workshops to show upcycling.
Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society —Bemidji, Minnesota
“BIRDS FOR VETERANS—BLENDING NATURE AND HONOR” is an initiative to construct bridges and strengthen group partnerships via birds. Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society and American Legion Submit #14 are collaborating to have interaction and excite residents, guests, and workers about birds on the new Bemidji Veterans Dwelling. This collaboration intends to put in chicken feeders, present binoculars, chicken guides, and birding apps, in addition to lead accessible chicken and nature packages, and share Indigenous data and tales about birds from native Ojibwe folks. Native plantings will likely be added across the chicken feeding stations. This may complement a big quantity of native landscaping already executed across the new facility. Window remedies to scale back chicken strikes may also be put in.
Birds of a Feather, Rust School—Holly Springs, Mississippi
Birds of a Feather, Rust School’s Audubon on Campus Chapter, is increasing its yearly Foxfire tenting journey by inviting college students from different HBCUs to have interaction in immersive, hands-on experiences in nature. This journey will characteristic expert-led birdwatching, nature hikes, and conservation talks, providing a novel alternative to discover biodiversity and join with the pure world. As well as, the chapter will host a plant sale, birdhouse portray workshop, and a nature-themed film night time to lift environmental consciousness inside their group. By fostering cross-campus collaboration and increasing participation, they intention to encourage a brand new era of conservation leaders, deepen environmental schooling, and strengthen ties between HBCUs and the Audubon mission.
Audubon Society of Omaha—Omaha, Nebraska
The Audubon Society of Omaha (ASO) plans to assist Audubon’s Flight Plan via group constructing and bringing chicken lovers collectively to advance their shared imaginative and prescient. The ASO Scholar Artwork Present is an annual occasion that pulls collectively lots of of Okay-12 college students from throughout the Omaha metro space. College students submit paintings in consideration for prizes. Judges select winners for 60 p.c or extra of the entries, and everybody leaves with some type of recognition to encourage participation and delight within the occasion. It’s each the biggest and most numerous occasion undertaken by ASO. The Artwork Present and Awards Ceremony interact lots of of recent potential birders and conservationists—each college students and their households—in depicting and sharing the fantastic thing about birds. The Scholar Artwork Present will attain a broad viewers, and can particularly goal Boys City, an area academic group for underserved youth.
Bedford Audubon Society—Katonah, New York
Bedford Audubon (BAS) has begun a multi-faceted program technique to have interaction new numerous communities of their chapter’s territory, together with Latino communities, with the target of reaching 20,000 folks over the following 12 months, greater than 75 p.c of them for the primary time. In the meantime, their worldwide birding journey alternatives will goal international locations and in-country companions which might be a part of the NAS Migratory Chook Initiative and Flyway Plans, going to at the very least two international locations within the first 12 months. This may create the notice and long-term monetary assist for the plan throughout their membership, offering a mannequin different chapters can undertake. They may share it via chapter conferences, regional conferences, and the NAS management convention in Montréal.
Buffalo Audubon Society—North Java, New York
Buffalo Audubon Society will companion with 4 native organizations to scale back chicken strikes throughout western New York via schooling and advocacy. New volunteers will likely be recruited from 4 organizations to retrofit their nature heart home windows with efficient chicken collision discount options to coach the general public on collision prevalence and prevention. Every of the middle’s three flooring will likely be modified with a special prevention possibility—movie, paracord, and tape— and signage will likely be displayed to tell guests find out how to replicate these options at residence and within the office. Three annual chicken strike packages will likely be provided to extend consciousness, view shows, and provide hands-on demonstrations. Chook collision info will likely be built-in into all on-site education schemes, and all contributors will likely be directed to FLACO Act and Darkish Skies Safety Act advocacy alerts.
Genesee Valley Audubon Society—Rochester, New York
Abatement of focused vegetation (weeds/timber) on a barrier island positioned on the entrance to Braddock Bay. The island and Braddock Bay are positioned on the Atlantic Migratory Flyway. This may return the island to a seashore that migratory shore birds use to relaxation and feed. This island and the Braddock Bay space are a part of the NYSDEC Braddock Bay Wildlife Administration space, and, as such, particular permits and processes must be adopted to abate the focused vegetation. This challenge aligns itself with the NYSDEC administration of this space.
NYC Chook Alliance—New York Metropolis, New York
NYC Chook Alliance will proceed to construct its New York Metropolis Housing Authority (NYCHA) in Nature program, considerably advancing its targets for fairness, variety, and inclusion. Begun in 2023, this system is a collaboration with public housing tenant leaders and residents to supply free nature and conservation actions based mostly on their group’s pursuits. The NYC Housing Authority supplies inexpensive housing to greater than 500,000 folks, predominantly Black and Latinx. Many NYCHA Homes have inexperienced areas that invite nature commentary, habitat enhancement, and bird-friendly upgrades. By way of this program, NYC Chook Alliance is constructing its capability to have interaction all of New York Metropolis’s communities in birds and conservation and to include a variety of views of their work to guard the Metropolis’s chicken and pure atmosphere, for the good thing about birds and other people.
Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society—Oneonta, New York
The NY/CT Window Collision Prevention/Lights Out Challenge brings collectively as much as 30 Audubon Chapters to have interaction communities to scale back chicken deaths by stopping bird-window collisions and implementing Lights Out initiatives. Chapters implement their very own programming plans. Assist supplies and sources are supplied for chapter use, based mostly on native wants. Supplies supplied to native chapters will embody a 150-page useful resource guide (one for each chapter in NY & CT); a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation and audio system notes; detailed details about window collision prevention merchandise (the place to buy, find out how to correctly use/set up), and reference supplies; detailed details about lights out initiatives; Copies of the prevailing 4-fold Audubon brochure about window collisions; a 12×18” yard signal with a “Chook-Pleasant Dwelling” message for native chapters to offer to houses which might be implementing window collision prevention and lights out initiatives; and stickers & desk banners for tabling and bigger initiatives.
Chook Alliance of Oregon—Portland, Oregon
Chook Alliance of Oregon will collaborate with at the very least three totally different affinity-based organizations to create a sequence of free BIPOC-only birding outings. By way of these outings, they’ll deliver collectively 100+ new and rising birders of colour to be taught and develop in group. Collectively they’ll deepen consciousness of birds and their connection to the pure world and strengthen group amongst folks of colour who’ve been traditionally marginalized within the outdoor. As well as, they’ll use these education schemes as springboards to have interaction BIPOC birders in conservation management and motion via three channels. First, they’ll share info in any respect walks about upcoming Chook Alliance of Oregon conservation advocacy campaigns, together with wetlands and forest protections throughout the state. Second, they’ll invite contributors to attend BIPOC-only Chook Alliance of Oregon activist trainings. Third, they’ll collaborate with native non-profit Folks of Colour Outside to facilitate a BIPOC Birders Management cohort, centered on constructing an upswell of recent leaders of their discipline.
Coast to Cascades Chook Alliance—Eugene, Oregon
The brand new Oregon Chook Pleasant Neighborhood Certification program acknowledges the necessary position that native communities play as they shield and restore habitat, work to scale back threats to birds, and supply alternatives for stewardship, schooling, and nature-focused engagement of group members. This system connects Audubon chapters throughout Oregon, permitting them to share sources and experience. Certification requires communities to satisfy significant standards, type coalitions amongst native organizations, interact municipal governments, and contain group members. Designation will promote a way of group delight and partnerships that permit numerous teams to work collectively towards frequent targets. Their new program has been invited to affix the Chook Metropolis Community. They’ve designed their program to be each a enjoyable and substantial technique to have interaction communities in avian conservation and to construct long-term relationships that keep dedication over time. They now search to create workshops and assist providers to help communities in turning into bird-friendly.
Lycoming Audubon—Williamsport, Pennsylvania
The Lycoming Audubon Society, positioned in north central Pennsylvania, will collaborate with the South Facet Leisure Authority (SSRA), a municipal authority representing South Williamsport and DuBoistown Borough, and Armstrong Township, in ongoing efforts to completely restore roughly 220 acres of wetland, grassland, and meadow habitat. This pure space, named for Robert Porter Allen, a pioneering ornithologist and the Nationwide Audubon Society’s first Director of Analysis, supplies vital habitat for a number of of the Flight Plan’s Excessive Precedence species, together with Virginia Rails, American Kestrels, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Northern Harriers. With the assist of an Audubon in Motion Grant, Lycoming Audubon and the SSRA will set up a various coalition to assist long-term upkeep of ecological integrity, develop an invasive species administration plan, and take a community-centered strategy to plan implementation. The end result will instantly enhance roughly 120 acres of habitat, contributing on to Nationwide Audubon’s Flight Plan Habitat and Neighborhood Constructing Milestones.
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania will enhance accessibility to environmental schooling, develop the conservation motion, and increase the Audubon community via the event and supply of packages and supplies in Spanish for the rising Latino group within the better Pittsburgh space. Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania proposes to develop 4 units of curricula and complementary schooling toolkits, ship 10 packages (eight for Okay-5 college students and two for households), translate eight key sources to Spanish, and plant one bird-friendly native backyard at Francis McClure Elementary for these in SOY (Supporting Our Youth) McKeesport programming. This work will construct on a current, profitable partnership with the Latino Neighborhood Heart’s SOY (Supporting Our Youth) Pittsburgh program, which focuses on addressing the tutorial wants of the Latino group. This challenge will create a chance to supply equitable and inclusive experiences for the roughly 29,000 Spanish audio system current within the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania service space.
Chattanooga Audubon Society—Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga Audubon Society is revitalizing Maclellan Island, an 18-acre island in the midst of the city heart of Chattanooga. As a part of the group’s land administration plan, the chapter plans to plant seven acres of native vegetation on Maclellan Island. The vegetation will act as a meals supply and habitat for migratory birds in a densely populated city space the place they’re scarce. Chattanooga Audubon Society intends to companion with native native plant nonprofits and native authorities companies to deliver consciousness to the significance of native vegetation as a meals supply for migrating birds. The vegetation will substitute invasive species presently being mitigated and can mood erosion. The visibility of Maclellan Island is a key characteristic of this challenge, as Chattanooga Audubon Society continues to advertise engagement in chicken watching. With this challenge, Chattanooga Audubon Society will strengthen its connections with companions such because the Metropolis of Chattanooga, whereas additionally creating alternatives for brand new partnerships.
Therapeutic Wings Audubon at College of Texas, Medical Department—Galveston, Texas
Therapeutic Wings is a campus chapter of the Nationwide Audubon at in Galveston, Texas. Being a well being professions college, their research give attention to therapeutic sufferers and serving to them to thrive. Their challenge goals to provide folks experiences to see for themselves the therapeutic impact nature has on the soul and to assist them perceive the necessity to shield their pure sources. Their challenge entails creating 10 “birding backpacks” that will likely be accessible for checkout at an area library. Every backpack will comprise binoculars, a discipline information, and laminated sheets with QR codes linking to birding maps, ID guides, and conservation sources. Their birding backpack group ‘kickoff’ occasion will introduce the backpacks to the general public. When paired with their deliberate lineup of guided birding discipline journeys and visitor lecturers, these backpacks will introduce a brand new demographic of future birders to the significance of defending and advocating for his or her pure sources.
Swan Society at Vermont Regulation and Graduate College—South Royalton, Vermont
Swan Society proposes a five-part challenge, involving birding excursions, academic occasions, planting native vegetation, constructing birdhouses, and lobbying Vermont’s Common Meeting. Swan Society will interact college students, workers, and college at Vermont Regulation and Graduate College; members of the South Royalton group and White River watershed; and different companions, collaborators, and allies. Swan Society’s challenge proposes to fund its fledgling enterprise because the nation’s first legislation college Audubon on Campus chapter. Every a part of Swan Society’s challenge engages people in habitat conservation, local weather motion, the development of coverage, and group constructing. Birding excursions, academic occasions, planting native vegetation, constructing birdhouses, and lobbying coalesce folks in objective and motion. Every of this challenge’s components corroborates the opposite, and all assist to encourage appreciation for avifauna and the habitats upon which avifauna rely—Swan Society’s objective.
Spokane Audubon Society—Spokane, Washington
The Little Spokane River watershed is a wealthy and biologically numerous space that has been degraded during the last century resulting from agriculture, logging, grazing, and improvement. Greater than 180 chicken species have been documented within the watershed for the reason that late Nineteen Nineties. To enhance habitat and water high quality of this deteriorated space, this challenge seeks to revive the realm to return it to a wholesome ecosystem that may assist a variety of birds and extra strong populations of them. With the assistance of scholars and volunteers, Spokane Audubon Society will plant native timber, shrubs, and perennial vegetation to extend usable habitat for birds, bugs, and different wildlife. The chapter will set up enhancements akin to nest packing containers to offer further nesting habitat for cavity nesters. The challenge will interact group members by offering each classroom studying in regards to the significance of birds within the atmosphere and hands-on expertise creating habitat for them.
Southern Wisconsin Chook Alliance—Madison, Wisconsin
Chook-window collisions kill billions of birds annually in the USA. This can be a big drawback that goes comparatively unnoticed and unaddressed by the general public. With assist from Audubon in Motion, Southern Wisconsin Chook Alliance will increase ongoing outreach efforts to owners, group members, and elected officers to lift consciousness of the issue and train them about how they will help clear up it. The chapter will take a number of outreach approaches, together with public shows, train-the-trainer workshops, useful resource kits for implementing window collision monitoring packages, video and article manufacturing, and exploration of the way to fund window remedy retrofits. Southern Wisconsin Chook Alliance will construct on years of profitable native outreach to broaden the viewers to a regional degree, creating networks of group organizers who’re knowledgeable and geared up to guard birds of their communities.
Chequamegon Audubon Society—Washburn, Wisconsin
Whittlesey Creek Nationwide Wildlife Refuge (WCNWR) has partnered with the Metropolis of Ashland, Wisconsin, and the St. Croix Administration District to transform and restore 10 acres of mowed metropolis property and invasive species-dominated land. Native prairie seeds, supplied, partially, by the St. Croix Administration District, will likely be used to advertise a more healthy and extra numerous habitat. The challenge will give attention to two places: 5 acres inside WCNWR and 5 acres within the Metropolis of Ashland. The first goal is to boost the habitat high quality for migratory birds, as Ashland and the Chequamegon Bay function an necessary migratory hall for a lot of North American chicken species. By reintroducing native plant species, this restoration effort will assist secure passage for migratory birds and act as a gateway alternative for first-time birdwatchers in the neighborhood.
Potomac Valley Audubon Society—Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Partaking the Neighborhood in Conservation and Motion: Utilizing displays and a brand new volunteer program, this challenge goals to deliver new viewers members into Potomac Valley Audubon Society’s nature heart to have interaction them in dialog about land preservation, uncommon species, power conservation, inexperienced infrastructure, and particular person actions guests can take. The brand new displays will likely be a catalyst for conversations. They may spotlight the particular options of the protected property and the energy-efficient nature heart the place the displays are displayed. The displays will present info and fascinating photos that may allow docents to obviously and constantly talk the options of the protected marsh and the energy-efficient constructing, whereas together with methods to encourage and encourage motion of their private lives.
WEZAAM at Midwestern College, Glendale Campus—Glendale, Arizona
Habitat creation, schooling, and group engagement in Glendale, AZ, to profit resident and migratory birds. WEZAAM’s multifaceted FORBIRDS program goals to encourage a group to be advocates and stewards of the birds that share their yards. To this finish, the actions designed for ages 12 and up will train about birds, talk about the threats birds are going through, and, importantly, equip contributors with tangible options and embolden them to grow to be citizen scientists for birds. They may create extra chicken habitat by increasing their present Sonoran Desert and provide contributors native desert vegetation for his or her yards. This group program will particularly profit Lucy’s Warbler by developing nest packing containers and monitoring their use. A group exhibition will talk about chicken window collisions, showcase merchandise accessible to mitigate this menace, and supply samples for contributors to put in at their houses. Collectively they will make Glendale a safer phase on the flight path.
Bruin Birding Membership at College of California, Los Angeles—Los Angeles, California
The purpose of Bruin Birding Membership at College of California, Los Angeles is to offer chicken programming to a various viewers of scholars, workers, school, and group members no matter background and expertise degree. In Summer time 2023 the Bruin Birding Membership ran its first-ever bird-themed LGBTQ+ Pleasure Competition, which efficiently attracted lots of of people to campus to have fun birds and variety in birding. In 2025, the Bruin Birding Membership plans to deliver again this occasion, with numerous repeated and new choices to satisfy the Audubon in Motion grant targets. These actions will embody 1) guided chicken walks with emphasis on variety, conservation, and the historical past of College of California, Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ motion, 2) a panel dialogue with queer leaders and researchers in ornithology, local weather change, gender research, and accessible birding, and three) numerous social occasions for challenge contributors and bird-themed programming from native non-profit organizations and rehabilitation services.
Spoonbill Society: Birding Membership at Florida State College—Tallahassee, Florida
Florida State College’s campus chapter will fund window remedies and develop academic supplies on efficient mitigation methods surrounding deadly bird-window strikes, each on its campus and throughout the bigger Tallahassee group. After a yr’s price of knowledge assortment on bird-window fatalities on campus, these funds will assist implementation of correct window remedies on their most deadly constructing, promotion for efficient options, and an “Lights Out” initiative, and an on-campus exhibit arrange biannually throughout migration depicting the issue home windows pose for chicken populations and methods to assist. Instructional supplies and outreach will likely be unfold throughout the three largest school campuses in Tallahassee (Florida State College, Tallahassee State School, and Florida A&M College) to additional enhance consciousness of this problem. This challenge will serve to guard birds and empower the local people and school college students to take steps in the direction of avian conservation on their campuses and past.
Audubon Society UW, Madison at College of Wisconsin-Madison—Madison, Wisconsin
The Microbial Sciences Chook-Pleasant Home windows is a university- and chapter-partnered challenge to retrofit home windows with bird-safe glass on the College of Wisconsin—Madison Microbial Sciences constructing. This challenge goals to scale back the mortality charges and menace of chicken collisions with constructing glass by putting in bird-friendly glass within the monitored college constructing with the best variety of chicken collisions on the College of Wisconsin—Madison campus. In partnerships with the College of Wisconsin—Madison Workplace of Sustainability Inexperienced Fund, Southern Wisconsin Chook Alliance, and the Chook Collision Corps program, this challenge goals to coach college students and group members on the significance of retrofitting bird-building collision websites for chicken security. Neighborhood engagement with species conservation motion is vital to advance the pursuits of wholesome chicken populations, campus members, and environmental well-being.
Collaborative Grant Initiatives
Quinnipiac Valley Audubon Society in Wallingford, Connecticut, Menunkatuck Audubon Society in Guilford, Connecticut, Bedford Audubon Society in Katonah, New York, Rockland Audubon Society in New Metropolis, New York, and Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society in Oneonta, New York, are working collectively as a part of a broader Connecticut—New York Audubon collaboration supported by an Audubon in Motion grant software. The challenge will pair public shows, youth-led installations, and Lights Out Connecticut outreach to coach communities and encourage widespread adoption of bird-safe practices. Equally, Onondaga Audubon Society in Syracuse, New York is poised to steer a regional Lights Out program in central New York, elevating public consciousness, creating partnerships, selling bird-friendly insurance policies, and offering sources and outreach to scale back gentle air pollution throughout peak migration durations.
Tropical Audubon Society is restoring its historic South Miami, Florida headquarters property—a uncommon remnant of imperiled pine rockland habitat—via month-to-month volunteer workdays that take away invasives, plant natives, and unfold pine needle straw mulch. The challenge not solely preserves nearly two p.c of Miami-Dade’s remaining pine rocklands but additionally serves as an academic useful resource via excursions, discipline journeys, and group packages that interact each adults and youngsters in conservation.
Southeast Volusia Audubon Society in New Symrna Seaside, Florida, will companion with Smyrna Dunes Park to offer signage and host academic tabling occasions that increase consciousness of defending fragile dunes and shorebird nesting websites. By partaking park guests with info, actions, and volunteer alternatives, Southeast Volusia Audubon Society goals to construct group, enhance conservation consciousness, and develop chapter membership.
Eagle Audubon Society in Solar Metropolis Heart, Florida, will restore two ponds within the Kings Level group by eradicating invasives and planting 1000’s of Florida-friendly native vegetation to enhance water high quality, present wildlife habitat, and shield waterways that move into Tampa Bay. The challenge, half of a bigger pond restoration effort, will embody contractor and volunteer planting, ongoing upkeep, and group schooling via articles, seminars, and outreach to advertise wholesome pond practices.
Duval Audubon Society, via its Lights Out Northeast Florida partnership, displays chicken collisions in downtown Jacksonville, advocates for bird-friendly practices, and companions with the Museum of Science and Historical past to put in Feather Pleasant markers and academic signage to scale back strikes. With assist from Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens and broad group engagement, the challenge will create a extremely seen demonstration web site that protects birds, educates 1000’s of holiday makers, and conjures up citywide bird-friendly motion.
Orange Audubon Society in Maitland, Florida, will advance group constructing efforts by partaking numerous audiences in chicken surveys and after-school birding golf equipment, supporting hands-on studying via appropriate binoculars for kids.
West Volusia Audubon Society in DeLand, Florida, helps Stetson College’s Audubon on Campus chapter and its partnership with the Gillespie Museum, which hosts birding packages and supplies habitats that join college students and the general public with nature. To increase entry, the chapter seeks a classroom set of 20 binoculars to take away obstacles for brand new birders, enrich academic programming, and construct group engagement round birds.
Manatee County Audubon Society in Bradenton, Florida, plans to boost the Felts Audubon Protect with two new shaded buildings, together with a chickee hut with picnic tables, to enhance customer expertise and luxury. These additions will assist rising academic packages for scouts, colleges, libraries, nonprofits, and the group, fostering better engagement in conservation and habitat restoration.
Coastal Georgia Audubon seeks to construct a Chimney Swift tower on the historic Ashantilly Heart in Darien, Georgia, to offer vital roosting habitat for these declining aerial insectivores whereas additionally providing pure pest management. The challenge will embody academic signage, monitoring, and three public occasions to have interaction 1000’s of annual guests in studying about and supporting Chimney Swifts.
Amos Butler Audubon Society in Indianapolis, Indiana, goals to revive the Skating Pond’s wetland habitat by eradicating invasive water lilies and shrubs, reintroducing native vegetation, and enhancing water ranges. This challenge will improve biodiversity, present vital nesting and stopover habitat for wetland birds, and enhance entry and delight for guests.
Evansville Audubon Society is collaborating in a hemispheric Motus tagging challenge to trace the migration, longevity, and inhabitants developments of the declining Wooden Thrush, practically 4 p.c of which nest in Indiana. By tagging as much as 600 birds throughout breeding states and 6 Latin American international locations, the challenge will generate vital information to information habitat administration and conservation alongside migratory pathways.
Louisville Audubon Society in Kentucky is launching a Lights Out program to scale back industrial and residential lighting throughout spring and fall migration, serving to shield migratory birds. The challenge will embody free yard signal distribution, group outreach, and youth engagement via academic packages and outside actions.
Baton Rouge Audubon Society in Louisiana plans to put in a bird-collision prevention artwork and schooling show on the major library, a identified collision hotspot, to scale back chicken deaths and lift public consciousness. The challenge may also interact the group via occasions, outreach, and everlasting academic supplies, whereas advocating for broader adoption of collision-prevention measures throughout Baton Rouge.
Central Minnesota Audubon Society in Chilly Spring, Minnesota, plans to create a brand new web site to offer real-time updates, broaden outreach past Fb, and make sources extra accessible to youth, lecturers, and the broader group. The positioning will characteristic occasions, initiatives, academic supplies, and chapter info, serving to entice new members, enhance engagement, and foster collaboration.
Lahontan Audubon Society in Reno, Nevada will take part in Northern Nevada Pleasure with a sales space and parade presence to have interaction the LGBTQIA+ group, supported by its new Fairness, Variety, Inclusion, and Belonging committee. The challenge goals to extend visibility, foster inclusivity, and develop LGBTQIA+ membership and management via outreach, sign-ups, social media engagement, and academic actions.
In Paramus, New Jersey, Bergen County Audubon Society’s pageant will spotlight the Bald Eagle’s restoration from close to extinction and the continuing efforts wanted to guard it. The occasion may also characteristic the native Indigenous companions, connecting conservation with tradition to have interaction the group with nature.
The South Shore Audubon Society in Freeport, New York, goals to increase and diversify native plantings within the Tackapausha and Hempstead Plains gardens to offer vital chicken and pollinator habitat whereas partaking the group in habitat conservation. By way of planting, interpretive signage with QR codes, public excursions, talks, volunteer gardening teams, and outreach through newsletters and social media, the challenge promotes schooling, advocacy, and chapter membership development.
Over the previous three years in Greenport, New York, North Fork Audubon Society volunteers have cleared invasive vegetation from Inlet Pond County Park, permitting native species to regenerate, and now intention to speed up this by planting 5 nursery-grown white oaks at a key path intersection. These white oak timber are a keystone species that may assist numerous wildlife, particularly bugs vital for feeding child birds, and will likely be accompanied by an indication recognizing volunteers and thanking Audubon for his or her contribution.
Hudson River Audubon Society in Yonkers, New York, has reworked its backyard with wooden chip paths, new accessible gates, and thoroughly chosen native plantings to regulate erosion and assist wildlife. Common upkeep will maintain the backyard in optimum situation, whereas ongoing enhancements proceed to boost accessibility, habitat high quality, and long-term sustainability.
Since its founding in June 2024, Associates of Grand Lake Audubon Society in Grove, Oklahoma, has engaged numerous and marginalized communities via in-person outreach, birding walks, trainings, and partnerships, shortly constructing a chapter with a board membership reflecting the group it serves. Trying forward, the chapter plans to increase its Younger Birders packages, college outreach, enhance its presence at group occasions, and improve its web site to enhance volunteer coordination and develop membership.
Seven Capes Chook Alliance in Lincoln Metropolis, Oregon, seeks to make its web site accessible in each English and Spanish to higher serve the native Spanish-speaking group, which requires upgrading the web site server to include the brand new translation integration. To handle this complicated improve given restricted workers capability, the chapter plans to rent an skilled advisor, enabling automated web site translation and reinforcing their dedication to inclusivity alongside translated print supplies.
Lehigh Valley Audubon Society will buy eight units of birding gear, supplementing library collections in Bethlehem and Easton, Pennsylvania, with two units for every major library and two for every department. This challenge supplies residents—particularly these in department library communities who’ve restricted entry to outside recreation—the chance to expertise birding without cost.
Larger Wyoming Valley Audubon Society goals to lift consciousness about declining native pollinators in city areas by offering academic programming and inspiring residents to plant native species, utilizing a downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, group backyard as an illustration web site. The chapter will provide native perennial vegetation, soil amendments, and academic supplies, and host a Native Pollinator Day to have interaction the general public, promote pollinator-friendly gardening, and amplify the message via native media and metropolis outreach.
Cape Henry Audubon Society goals to considerably scale back chicken strikes in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, throughout migration attributable to shiny lights and glass buildings, having already recorded greater than 200 largely warblers. Success on this effort may function a mannequin for Virginia Seaside to increase to Newport Information and Hampton and finally assist regional and statewide chicken security laws.
Spokane Audubon Society in Spokane, Washington, goals to counter declining American Kestrel populations by developing, putting, and monitoring wood nest packing containers to offer further nesting habitat. Working with volunteers, landowners, and the general public, the chapter tracks field utilization, fledgling success, and volunteer participation, with plans to increase this system considerably over the following 5 years.
Blue Mountain Audubon Society in Walla Walla, Washington, goals to construct a extra numerous birding group by partaking youth and Spanish-speaking residents via quarterly introductory discipline journeys, bilingual outreach, and accessible sources like binocular loans and Spanish-language guides. The chapter plans to extend membership by 10 p.c over the following yr, with half of recent members from underrepresented teams, and hopes to have interaction at the very least 15 people or households per discipline journey.
Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society in Sequim, Washington, goals to scale back chicken accidents and deaths at Peninsula School by putting in DIY Acopian BirdSavers on campus home windows whereas planning for future Feather Pleasant dot markers. The chapter will interact college students and workers via schooling, hands-on constructing, and monitoring, with a purpose of decreasing window collisions by 50 p.c.
Silver State Wings and George Whittell Environmental Grant Awards
Along with the Audubon in Motion and Collaborative grants, this cycle we had been additionally in a position to provide the George Whittell Nevada Environmental Grant Award and the Silver State Wings grants to our chapters in Nevada. Purple Rock Audubon Society was the recipient of $14,000 for his or her “Campus to Conservation” challenge. One other $14,000 was break up between Lahontan Audubon Society, Purple Rock Audubon Society and the Audubon on Campus chapter at College of Nevada Las Vegas. Collectively, these grants supplied $28,000 to assist chapters on this state, via funds generously supplied by George Whittell and Doug and Nancy Chang, respectively.
Purple Rock Audubon Society—Las Vegas, Nevada
Purple Rock Audubon Society’s youth education schemes will present college students with their very own set of Quantity 1 & 2 Sibley’s Birds of Southern Nevada. Having used these guides throughout their discipline journey, the scholars grow to be related to a couple species they see that day within the discipline with what’s proven within the information. Purple Rock Audubon will present the chance for the scholars to take the guides residence, share with their households, and join with different native species recognized within the guides with what they could see of their neighborhood and parks.
Lahontan Audubon Society—Reno, Nevada
The Perils of Plastics—An academic tabling occasion exhibiting the harmful results of artificial plastic merchandise can have on birds. The show contains at the very least 3 taxidermy mounts of birds which have died resulting from their encounters with plastic, plus “wholesome” mounts of the identical species. Attendees may have the chance to signal a letter/postcard to be given to Nevada’s Congressional Representatives to encourage the passage of The Break Free From Plastic Air pollution Act of 2023 (S.3127/H.R.6053). Letters/postcards may also be supplied for members of the Nevada State Legislature to encourage statewide laws. The mounts, info, and advocacy marketing campaign will likely be on show at a minimal of three tabling occasions. These occasions will construct group by attracting new Audubon members as chicken lovers work collectively to tell the general public of this problem and to encourage a change to public coverage via communication with authorities representatives.
