Congratulations to 勛圖窪蹋 in Action Awardees from California!
Five California chapters were awarded 勛圖窪蹋 in Action grants to support conservation, activism, volunteerism and leadership. Learn about which programs were funded!
Published August 13, 2018
This article is from 勛圖窪蹋 California
. 勛圖窪蹋 has 31 conservation action centers and more than 500 community and campus chapters across the U.S. serving local communities. Find your local center or chapter here.
Earlier this year, the 勛圖窪蹋 announced a new program called the 勛圖窪蹋 in Action Award, to provide grants ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 to support 勛圖窪蹋 chapters as they grow their conservation, activism, volunteerism and leadership development work in communities across the flyaways. Five chapters were awarded from California!
We are happy to announce that the following chapters will receive funding through the 勛圖窪蹋 in Action Grant Program:
Los Angeles 勛圖窪蹋 - Western Snowy Plover Coastal Beach Stewardship Program.
Los Angeles 勛圖窪蹋s Conservation Program for the Western Snowy Plover, a federally threatened bird species found on beaches in Los Angeles County, faces an uncertain future. Federal funding that supported this program in the past, and appeared to be on track for a 3-yr renewal, has been unexpectedly cancelled. Since 2007, project biologists Thomas Ryan (Ryan Ecological Consulting) and Stacey Vigallon (Los Angeles 勛圖窪蹋 Society (LAAS) have coordinated community-based conservation programs monitoring Western Snowy Plovers in Los Angeles County, engaging volunteers in bird surveys, habitat restoration, and outreach opportunities, and hundreds of under-served youth in shorebird/coastal awareness activities. In 2017, for the first time in nearly 70 years, Western Snowy Plovers nested in Los Angeles County. This is a critical time for plovers and its imperative that ongoing, uninterrupted data collection and public engagement is maintained to help support the survival of this threatened species.
Pasadena 勛圖窪蹋 - volunteer engagement and community outreach
In the past two years, Pasadena 勛圖窪蹋s community outreach program has taken off! We now find ourselves in high demand to bring our vibrant and engaging outreach materials to large-scale community events like Earth Day fairs, farmers markets, and more, as well as to smaller, more direct programs with elementary schools, youth groups, and neighborhoods. Funding will be used to continue to broaden and expand our outreach so we can attend more events, reach new and diverse populations, expand our materials and message, and fulfill our mission to bring the excitement of birds to our community. Our community outreach program is also one way we attract new members and connect them to our initiatives and resources. PAS is primarily volunteer run, with a volunteer board and dozens of volunteers who lead field trips, teach classes, and deliver programs. Broadening our membership enables us to strengthen programming and further our mission. Making our organization accessible and welcoming is also an important goal.
San Diego 勛圖窪蹋 - advocacy program in San Diego County.
San Diego County is a biodiversity hotspot at the forefront of pressing ecological issues such as drought, wildfire, sea-level rise, urban sprawl, habitat fragmentation, and much more. To address these threats, it is urgent that we expand our grassroots advocacy efforts, build programmatic sustainability, and enhance our skills in navigating the complex and divided political landscape of our chapters large territory. To this end, we will launch an 勛圖窪蹋 Advocate program in which 20 volunteers are recruited, trained and intensively mentored by SDAS staff in community advocacy and grassroots activism.
Sea and Sage 勛圖窪蹋 - Least Tern monitoring program
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Sea and Sage 勛圖窪蹋 has partnered with California State Parks protecting California Least Terns since 1964 at a small nesting colony of terns in Huntington Beach. Our members funded the first fence around the 1.8acre nesting colony, which would later become the first officially protected least tern preserve under the ESA. In 2005, Sea and Sage and the park formed a volunteer docent/ambassador program which trains volunteers to educate beach visitors about the now 13-acre colony and help with essential protections for the nesting terns.
- Coastal Bird Stewardship Program
Ventura 勛圖窪蹋 will continue to monitor the federally listed Western Snowy Plover (WSP) and California Least Tern (CLT) at Ormond Beach and Hollywood Beach in Oxnard, California. Since 2013, Ventura 勛圖窪蹋 Society (VAS) has taken responsibility for securing funds each year to support the recovery program as there is no designated, consistent funding available and the land doesnt fall under military or state jurisdiction as most nesting beaches do. Nest monitoring is the foundation of our recovery program for the WSP and CLT. Not only does it provide metrics on species breeding status, but it is the only way to inform the rest of the recovery program with scientific data and seasonal information on successes of and threats to recovery.