Audubon Ohio Birdathon to be "Carbon Conscious"
For those of you who know what a Birdathon is, please move on to the next paragraph. For the rest of you, you're probably asking yourself, "What on earth is a Birdathon?!" A Birdathon is a chance to make a list of the species of birds seen in a 24-hour period by a crazy group of people driven by the desire to count such things. Just as a walkathon is a walk to raise money for a certain cause, a Birdathon is 24-hours of birding to raise money for conservation and have fun while doing it.
The Audubon Ohio Birdathon will be held on May 10th, and this year has a new and exciting twist: a carbon conscious Birdathon. Members of our staff will be birding only from locations that they can reach on foot, by bicycle or using public transportation. By doing so, we will limit the amount of fossil fuels we burn and the pollution and greenhouse gas they produce, which are major contributors to global warming.
This year, we'll also be posting details on the Web as we go through a carbon conscious day search for birds, so you can follow our progress as we go. Follow us at http://AObirdathon.blogspot.com/ .
By taking on the challenge of a carbon conscious Birdathon, we will be doing our part to help reduce fossil fuel consumption in order to protect wildlife and ecosystems that are at risk from mining, drilling, deforestation and development as well as reducing air and water pollution. For more details about global warming and what you can do, visit http://www.audubon.org/globalWarming/ .
How can you help?
- You may print the pledge panel from our Birdathon brochure (available on April 23rd) and send it with a donation or click here to simply Donate Now!
- You can return the form or email earmstrong@audubon.org with a set pledge amount (i.e. $50, $100.)
- You can pledge an amount per species, i.e. 25 cents, 50 cents, or a dollar per species. (In the past, we've seen as many as 80 to 100 species. However, we expect to see far fewer species this year with the new format, so please keep that in mind if you pledge per species.) You can do this by sending the form or an email to earmstrong@audubon.org.
- Volunteer to count birds from any place that you can reach by foot, by bike or using public transportation. Ask your friends and family to sponsor you. No expertise required - volunteer to count for half an hour (or more!) from your own backyard. If you can help, email us at earmstrong@audubon.org.
Funds raised during Birdathon stay here in Ohio to benefit our education, conservation and advocacy programs as well as support our chapters.
Ways of Birding Carbon Consciously
Here are some tips and techniques that you can use to make your birding more carbon conscious.
Bring Birds to the Backyard - Attracting birds to your backyard habitat can be an easy way of providing you with hours of entertainment from the comfort of your own home.
Bike it for the Birds - bicycling and walking can be a great way of visiting local community habitats and getting some exercise to boot.
Bird with a Friend.or Four - car-pooling can be a quick way of reducing individual carbon emissions from personal vehicles. Plus, more people means more eyes-&-ears to look for more birds. While more people in a car means more weight, which can reduce a car's fuel efficiency, emissions from one car are less than emissions from four individual cars.
Public Transportation - taking a bus can help reduce carbon emissions from personal vehicles and help take you further afield to visit your favorite local metroparks or natural areas. You might even see some exciting birds along the way. Greenhouse gas emissions produced will be even less if your public transportation system relies on buses that run on biodiesel.
Bird with a Legislator - invite your local, state and federal elected officials to come along and share your passion for birds. Educating our leaders will help pave the way to enacting strong public policies that will be necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
