Have fun! Get involved! Volunteer! We need your help!
Posted on Friday, September 1st, 2017Audubon in the Schools Program Coordinator
The Audubon in the Schools (AITS) curriculum comprises five fun-filled lessons that combine bird biology and basic art techniques. Originally developed by artist Kris Kirkeby, our former Education Chair, the lessons are excellent examples of participatory education. The program is designed to provide elementary students with a solid introduction to core aspects of bird biology, including feather anatomy and function, bird identification techniques, bird field marks, and habitat. The coordinator oversees all facets of the program. This includes classroom scheduling and volunteer training, plus teaching lessons to students along with the other volunteers. Help us take this wonderful education program to new heights!
FMI: Visit our Volunteer page online at laneaudubon.org/support/volunteer, or contact Maeve Sowles at 541.343.8664, or president@laneaudubon.org.
Compiler wanted for Florence Christmas Bird Count
The Florence Christmas Bird Count (CBC) has been an annual December event for 34 years. The data from that count, which averages about 130 species, provides local birders and counters an invigorating early winter challenge away from the preparations for the holidays. The Florence count folds into the greater LCAS CBC.
Kit Larsen has been organizing the count for the last 10 years and is ready to pass this task on to someone else. It involves lining up participants, producing packet materials, collecting and compiling the data, submitting to Audubon, and summarizing the count for newsletters. It takes some organization and attention to the calendar. It is a good way of getting to know the Florence area, connect to a local facet of an international project, and become better acquainted with the birds and birders in the Florence area.
FMI: Please contact Kit at kit@uoregon.edu or 541.344.9574.
In early June, we visited Summer Lake in Eastern Oregon to explore some areas new to us. We have driven through this high desert basin many times on the way to visit relatives near Lakeview, but never spent time there, and it was not a disappointment. The ODFW Summer Lake Wildlife Area is 18,941 acres in size, “with a goal of supporting wetland dependent wildlife and a diverse array of other wildlife and plant species for use and enjoyment by present and future generations.” 
The weather was rainy and cool on May 13 for Lane County Audubon Society’s International Migratory Bird Day event, staged in Alton Baker Park in collaboration with Nearby Nature and Cascades Raptor Center. Despite the weather, several families stopped by the picnic shelter at Alton Baker Park, where our educational activities were being staged, and then continued on to Nearby Nature’s Learnscape area. IMBD-LCAS volunteers led family-friendly bird walks, Raptor Center staff displayed a live Peregrine Falcon, and Nearby Nature staff conducted more nature-related activities for kids. 
School is out for the summer, but that’s a temporary situation. The Audubon in the Schools program sends teams of volunteer instructors into the elementary schools to teach third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students both science and art using bird specimens, feathers, bones, and nests. No teaching experience or artistic talent is required. All you need is a few hours a month and an interest in teaching children. You can check out the program by sitting in on a class.
It’s the time of year when we have an opportunity to create bird-friendly yards! Get out in the garden to work some landscaping magic with the purpose of welcoming the migrating birds to nest and raise their young in our area. Birds have been using the Northern Hemisphere for nesting over thousands of years. In recent years, human impacts on the environment have drastically changed their world, as well as ours. Actions we take today can help make our yards more welcoming to the birds and wildlife.