Current Projects and Goals is regularly published about once a quarter. Its purpose is to communicate to our membership about important issues that the board of directors and committee members are involved with.
Projects and Goals September 2023
From the desk of
Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Through our Education and Conservation/Science committees, Santa Barbara Audubon Society (SBAS) is actively working on many initiatives. This update provides an overview of selected current projects, goals, and opportunities for member engagement.
Dear SBAS Friends, Members, and Supporters,
SBAS protects area birdlife and habitat and connects people with birds through education, conservation, and science. Throughout the summer, our Eyes in the Sky (EITS) program provided educational live raptor presentations at local camps, Santa Barbara County Parks (such as Cachuma Lake), other public venues, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. This fall, we’ll introduce to local schools a new SBAS Feather Box interactive exhibit with feather specimens and replica bones, and refresh and grow our Meet Your Wild Neighbor curriculum to meet increasing demand for our quality educational outreach.
Ongoing conservation and community science initiatives included work by Don Schroeder and his team monitoring Western Bluebirds and Tree Swallows through the Next Box Project at Lake Los Carneros in Goleta. Thank you to Don Schroeder, Steve Senesac, and SBAS and UCSB volunteers for the care and logistics that make this Nest Box Project possible.
Our Conservation/Science committee proactively worked with the City of Goleta using Santa Barbara County Breeding Bird Study data to help inform management decisions at Ellwood Mesa/Sperling Preserve Open Space in Goleta. The purpose of the Nesting Bird Management Plan is to help avoid impacts to nesting birds (such as White-tailed Kites) in this important natural area.
Protecting birds and their habitats is truly a community collaboration and we thank you, SBAS members, and our community partners for supporting these efforts.
As we begin the 2023-2024 fiscal year – marking our 60th year as a local, volunteer-driven, environmental nonprofit – we welcome you to share your passion for birds, invite a friend, attend a fun bird walk, and use your voice to protect local birdlife. Learn more at SantaBarbaraAudubon.org.
Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Santa Barbara Audubon Society
Projects and Goals June 2023
From the desk of
Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Through our Education and Conservation/Science committees, Santa Barbara Audubon Society (SBAS) is actively working on many initiatives. This update provides an overview of selected current projects, goals, and opportunities for member engagement (the project list is not all-inclusive).
SBAS protects area birdlife and habitat and connects people with birds through education, conservation and science. It’s been a whopping year! SBAS Eyes in the Sky (EITS), the key wildlife education program of SBAS since 2000 and the only federally licensed raptor education program in the county, brought our signature Meet Your Wild Neighbor curriculum to 14 classes across Santa Barbara and Goleta school districts (42 sessions). SBAS also provided live raptor visits to many other local classrooms and senior centers and bird presentations at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History daily (except Tuesdays). Thank you, SBMNH, for this partnership! We’re now introducing our new Peregrine Falcon, Ace, to the public. We revamped the bird aviaries with beautiful natural branches and enrichment, and we have a new outreach table, featuring a hands-on exhibit with feather specimens and replica bones. This summer, we’ll continue to strengthen and expand the MYWN curriculum to prepare for the coming academic year.
We also celebrated many growing partnerships this year. SBAS was delighted to partner with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden for “Family Bird Fest,” the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature for “Bird’s Eye View: Four Perspectives,” and the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity & Ecological Restoration and UCSB affiliates for the “Bringing Back our Wetlands” film screening. Collaborating with other nonprofits, we are stronger at protecting birds and their habitats.
We invite bird enthusiasts to get involved and join us at future programs, bird walks, and field trips. Learn more at SantaBarbaraAudubon.org/join-sbas.
The SBAS Board has three volunteer opportunities for organized people who like birds and outreach.
- Education Chair or Co-chair to help with outreach activities
- Development Chair or Co-chair
- Membership Chair or Co-chair
Contact Janice Levasheff for more information on volunteering: email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Thank you for your support of SBAS.
Projects and Goals March 2023
From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Through our Education Committee and our Conservation/Science Committee, Santa Barbara Audubon Society (SBAS) is actively working on many projects. This update provides an overview of selected current projects, goals, and opportunities for member engagement (project list is not all-inclusive).
SBAS protects area birdlife and habitat and connects people with birds through education, conservation and science. SBAS’s Eyes in the Sky (EITS) program, the key wildlife education program of SBAS since 2000 and the only federally licensed raptor education program in the county, connects people to birds and nature through presentations at schools, afterschool programs, and the Audubon Aviary at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The new American Kestrel, “Mouse,” is now meeting the public, and we are welcoming a new Peregrine Falcon (stay tuned for name). SBAS is providing Meet Your Wild Neighbor school lessons to 14 classrooms in 2022-23. We continue to schedule offsite educational programs and raptor visits at camps, classrooms, retirement homes, and other venues. (For details, contact Hannah Atkinson: email hidden; JavaScript is required)
In other news and appreciation:
Congratulations to Michael Love and Sage Hill Films for having their short film “Why are Birds Important?” selected for the prestigious Bird and Nature Festival in Abbeville, France. (View the film at santabarbaraaudubon.org/learning-resources)
We thank Don Schroeder and Steve Senesac for their diligent leadership running the Nest Box Project at Lake Los Carneros and for their gifts of time, skills, knowledge and passion. Watch for an exciting report on data and research findings to be posted on SBAS’s website in the near future.
Kudos to the Christmas Bird Count leaders and Winter Bird Count for Kids volunteers for organizing these important endeavors, building awareness about bird conservation, and counting 196 and 54 species, respectively, at the fun community events. Thank you to Hugh Ranson for continuing to share Santa Barbara birding stories, including CBC news, in his monthly column in the Santa Barbara Independent. (independent.com/2023/01/15/santa-barbara-birding-a-tale-of-two-counts)
SBAS is delighted to partner for the second year with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden for May Bird Month. Watch for details this spring.
Projects and Goals December 2022
From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Through our Education Committee and our Conservation/Science Committee, SBAS is actively working on many projects. This update provides an overview of selected current projects, goals, and opportunities for member engagement (project list is not all-inclusive).
Through education, conservation, and science work, and sharing the joy and beauty of birds, SBAS sparks a passion for nature and inspires the community to protect birds and our natural environment. Eyes in the Sky (EITS), the key wildlife education program of SBAS since 2000 and the only federally licensed raptor education program in the county, connects members of the public with birds and nature through presentations at schools, afterschool programs, and the Audubon Aviary at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) (every day except Tuesdays). SBAS also gives EITS educational live bird presentations at preschools, retirement communities, and other locations. SBAS’s signature Meet Your Wild Neighbor school program (MYWN), which provides interactive curriculum for children in lower elementary classrooms to learn about birds and the environment, will be taught in 14 Santa Barbara and Goleta classrooms throughout the 2022/2023 academic year. This year, SBAS will continue to incorporate more bird sounds, music, and a “bird sit”, and investigate adding Spanish vocabulary. Please contact Hannah Atkinson for information about pricing and scheduling and to be added to the MYWN waitlist (https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/eyes-in-the-sky/eits-programs/).
SBAS continues to provide engaging monthly Evening Programs and bolster innovative partnerships with UCSB Arts & Lectures and the SBMNH to host local and national renowned speakers (https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/programs/). SBAS’s educational and fun bird walks and field trips remain in high demand. >35 bird walks/field trips are calendared for 2022/2023. SBAS members, nature enthusiasts, and new birders are welcome to join any and all SBAS activities (https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/activities/).
SBAS prepares for the annual Winter Bird Count for Kids (WBC4K) (January 21st, 9 AM – 12 PM). SBAS is deeply grateful for the eight years of dedicated volunteer service and leadership by event Co-chairs, Judy Blue and Joan Cotich. There is an immediate need for new WBC4K Co-chairs. If you are interested and/or know someone who is organized, passionate about birds, children, and educational outreach, and willing to focus on leading this important event annually starting in 2024, please contact Janice Levasheff right away. Shadowing the 2023 WBC4K would be an excellent start.
