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About Audubon Vermont
Audubon was founded at the start of the last century - one
of America's earliest organizations dedicated to conservation of birds,
other wildlife and essential habitat. Audubon has had a grassroots
presence in Vermont since the founding of "The Audubon Society
of Vermont" in
1901, and has grown to over 4,000 members with 8 volunteer
chapters throughout the state. Through the active engagement
of volunteers at the grassroots
level, Audubon Vermont has played an important role in securing
key environmental protection in Vermont through environmental
education, science and public
policy initiatives. In a state that supports many environmental
organizations, Audubon Vermont is unique in its multidisciplinary
approach with site-based
environmental education and a strong grassroots chapter network
at its core.
Audubon Vermont today
Year-round education programs reach thousands of Vermonters
of all ages through school, camp, family, and adult programs
and workshops, including 4,500 school-aged children.
Environmental
awareness and education is an ongoing process, not a single
event. Centers-based programs are designed to
make it possible for a child to explore nature in our pre-school
programs, advance to school field trips, spend their summers
at day camp, and eventually attend our residential summer
camps. Complementing these programs, Audubon chapters throughout the
state conduct educational programs and events for their local
communities. Across Vermont outstanding staff and dedicated
volunteers offer programs year-round to guide Vermonters
of
all ages along the continuum from appreciation to understanding
to stewardship of nature.
Effective grassroots advocacy for
the protection of critical habitat
Action is the natural outgrowth
of our passion to conserve and protect our environment.
Partnership is the best word
to describe Audubon's approach to influencing public policy.
Our success is based on our ability to leverage grassroots
support through our chapters and members and build coalitions
and alliances. We also work closely with the national public
policy office of Audubon to assure coordination of activities
on key national issues. Audubon's grassroots network
of activists and science-based, solution-oriented approach
to resolving public policy issues have earned the organization
a reputation as a thoughtful, reputable advocate for wildlife
and habitat.
Science programs building on Audubon's
heritage of bird conservation and with an emphasis on citizen
engagement.
The Vermont Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program
is the focal point of these efforts. The program's goal
is to identify and protect sites that are essential to
Vermont's birds and bird populations. Since its inception
in 1998 the Vermont
IBA
Program has completed the identification of 119 IBAs,
established monitoring by interns and "citizen scientists" at
eleven IBAs, and created partnerships with other non-profits
and government agencies to maintain monitoring efforts
on the remaining areas. Through the IBA program Audubon
is developing
plans that, when completed, will be a blueprint for bird
conservation in Vermont. Other projects include the development
of a grassland
bird management and recovery plan and ongoing efforts
to provide stewardship of sanctuaries including wetlands,
riparian areas,
and islands in Lake Champlain. (Thanks to Audubon's
work on the restoration of Common Terns to Vermont, there
are now
170 endangered Common Tern pairs nesting on these island
sanctuaries, up from 50 pairs in 1988.)
Audubon Vermont -
Our Plans for the Future
Our experience has taught us that
successful conservation takes more than just professional
expertise; it must penetrate
the
everyday awareness of citizens to foster a new generation
of environmental leaders, bringing about what we call a "Culture
of Conservation." Audubon's year-round programs
are designed to engage a growing and diverse audience of
children and adults in positive outdoor experiences that
lay the foundation
for a lifetime of caring for and conserving Vermont's
environment and its unique natural communities. Our long-term
goal in Vermont is to establish a network of Audubon Centers
to provide quality environmental education for one in four
school-age children annually, protect and restore habitat
at over 100 Important Bird Areas and develop a statewide
constituency
of active conservationists. Our strategy will be to emphasize
site-based education, build relationships with individuals
and families and engage them in conservation activities
through citizen science and advocacy, and create partnerships
with
other like-minded organizations. |
