Nov 2004 Apalachee Audubon Society Newsletter

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Apalachee AudubonThe Newsletter Of The Apalachee Audubon Society, Inc.

November, 2004Vol. 105, no. 3www.apalachee.org

P r og r a m H i g h lig h t Wednesday, Nov, 17th.

Kathleen Brady, Executive Di-rector of Birdsong Nature Cen-ter will discuss the history, cur-rent programs and future goalsof Birdsong.

Birdsong Nature Center is an

important resource for environ-mental education in North Flor-ida and South Georgia. In ad-dition, Birdsong provides anexample of the important redhills ecosystem to the north ofTallahassee which is subject toincreasing rates of fragmenta-tion in the future.

One Birdsong,More Legacies

Eric Draper, President

When our family moved backto Tallahassee fourteen yearsago, we took the kids to theplaces that would give them asense of this wonderful region.Birdsong was our favorite andwe can recollect the hayridesand hikes through the woodsand fields. The wonderfuldedication of the founders andvolunteers allowed our familyspecial experiences at a veryspecial place.

It is with those memories inmind that I write this column totie together a sense of placewith the duty some people feelto preserve and share it. Thatis the underlying spirit ofAudubon. It is the attitude thatwill determine if our commu-nity and region will be the kindof place where people sharehabitat with wildlife.

Call it the Red Hills, the BigBend, Apalachee, the capitolregion. The names dont mat-ter but the sense of placedoes. Most people agree that

there is something out of theordinary about this area wherecoastal plains and piedmontmerge. Even more remark-able is the willingness of someto take responsibility for mak-ing sure that others have achance to enjoy more thanmalls and sporting events.

Places are altered for better orworse by the people who oc-cupy and use them. Those ofus living on and using thislandscape now benefit or suf-fer from our predecessors ac-tions. The sense of place thatled Ed and Betty Komerek toconvert their farm to a sanctu-ary and education center byitself seems like an extraordi-nary act of service.

Yet the same attitude is appar-ent with the Lake JacksonEcopassage Alliance, the vol-unteers at St. Marks WildlifeRefuge, the new Think AboutPersonal Pollution program,Heart of the Earth, ApalacheeTortoise and other initiatives toeducate and motivate peopleto protect the natural world.

These groups and efforts arecarried on by people commit-ted to a legacy of conserva-tion.

The diversity and energy ofconservation activism is en-couraging. Yet it runs head-long against another disturb-ing trend. As more people joinus in this beautiful area, thelocal chamber and its eco-

nomic development arm andsome political leaders arepushing to radically reduce theenvironmental protections al-lowed by our current develop-ment rules. Apparently Talla-hassee is too green to grow asfast as some builders want.

Will our sense of place andour willingness to take respon-sibility for our community beenough to buffer the changethat comes with every newarrival? Apalachee Audubonis committed to encouragingthe people and the attitudethat can create a commitmentto keeping the town green.We want more Komereks andwe dont want Birdsong to bean island in a sea of houses.

If you are ready to take someresponsibility for keeping thisregion special there areleadership positions with Apa-lachee Audubon, the organiza-tions listed above and others.Act now!


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OfficersPresident: Eric Draper 222-2473

[email protected]

Vice President: Sally Jue [email protected]: Harvey Goldman 385-5222

[email protected]

Secretary: Open

Board Members

Ray Bieber - 445-4682

[email protected] Collins 224-9549

[email protected]

Grayal Farr 385-5732

[email protected]

Kim Libroth [email protected]

Bill Lowrie 962-4138

[email protected]

Jim Shelton [email protected]

Karen Wensing [email protected]

Committee ChairsConservation:Eric Draper

Education:Judy Goldman [email protected]

Finance:Ray Bieber

Hospitality:Elizabeth PlattMembership: Karen WensingNewsletter:Bill LowriePublicity: Kim LibrothField Trips: Marvin Collins

Programs: Marvin Collins

Webmaster:Hans Von TolEx-Officio, Sierra Liaison: Grayal Farr-385-5732St. Marks NWR Liaison:Robin Will -877-9058

The Apalachee Audubon newsletter is pub-

lished 8 times yearly (Sept. May, except

Dec.) by the Apalachee Audubon Society, Inc.,P.O. Box 1237, Tallahassee, FL 32302-1237.

This newsletter is printed on

partially recycled paper.

Mission Statement

Protection of the environment

through education, appreciation

and conservation.

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Membership NewsKaren Wensing, Membership Chair

Beginning in FY 2005 the AUDUBON magazine will return to a bi-monthly publication schedule. Members will once again receive sixissues per membership year.

Good news for snowbirds or other dual household members. If youwould like to have a summer/winter address split for delivery ofAudubon publications, just call the membership chair for a copy ofthe ABON form. Dates can be customized for your needs and youmay keep your membership in this chapter all year.

Membership meetings are free and open to the public, so feel freeto invite your friends to any meetings you think might interest themIf YOUR friend decides to join during our meeting, the chapter willgive the new member a bird-chiming clock (or alternate gift) andyou will receive a membership pin. Board meetings are open to all

chapter members. Meetings are normally held at 7 pm on the sec-ond Wednesday of the month at the LeRoy Collins Leon CountyPublic Library.

Apalachee Audubon welcomes the following new members: Ste-ven Byrd, William Carroll, Lynn Chang, James Cooper, RobertCrew, Nita Drewyor, Jennifer Hand, Scott Harrison, Gladys Hicks,Matthew Hill, Katharine Ler, Clifford Mayhall, Edith Murphy, Mi-chael and Anita Nash, Claudia Nelson, Happy Parker, M.L. Ringel-berg, Margaret Ronmald, M/M Scoll Shirley, Lillis Snyder, DavidTheriaque, Donna Tharpe, Marry Turner, Nicolas Wienderss andYvonne Zola. In addition, Julie Brooks, W. Lewis, Linda Most, Wil-

liam Phelan and Elsie Stanton recently transferred into this chap-ter. We also thank those who have recently renewed their member-ships.

If any member needs to report an address change or make anymembership correction, it is easy to contact the national office byphone (1-800-274-4201) or email ([email protected]).

The Chapter newsletter, while an essential means of communica-tion with our members, also represents a significant expense in ourannual budget. The Board is exploring some possible economies.One thought is to distribute the newsletter electronically to those

members who have email or Internet access. You can share youremail address with us on the meeting sign-in log or when you nextrenew your membership. You can be assured that we will notshare this information with any other entity. Paper distributionwould continue for all who do not submit an email address.


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Please Let Us Know If You Are Interested In ...

Our Fieldtrip chair, Marvin Collins is considering two great events for early next year and he would liketo know how many of you would be interested in them. If you are and/or have suggestions, pleasegive Marvin a call at 224-9549. The proposed events are:

Overnight Field Trip, February 26 27th. To Paynes Prairie State Park which is just south of

Gainesville. Current plans are to leave early Saturday morning and getting back into Tally sometimeSunday afternoon. We might stay in a nearby motel or possibly camp in the State Park where thereare sites with drive in access. Please note that some of the nicest areas of the park will require hik-ing 2 - 5 miles or so. It isnt strenuous in terms of elevation gain and, hopefully, not buggy in Febru-ary. We should see lots of Sandhill Cranes as well as bunches of other neat stuff. On my last visitthis past July I finally saw the bison herd.

Beginning Birding Course, March. Two or three evening classes of about 2 hours each spacedover as many weeks plus two Saturday field trips. There will be a tuition fee. One field trip wouldprobably be to a coastal or wetland area and the other to an upland forest. Would you rather have asingle, long workshop instead of spreading it over several evenings? Again, call Marvin Collins at224-9549.

Visit our remodeled Bird Shop & Bird Window.We carry a complete line of wild bird supplies andquality bird seeds.

2911 Thomasville Rd., Tallahas- see, FL 32312(850) 385-2162

Interesting News From Our Friends At Cairo High School

Last spring we had a very exciting presentation from the students of Jennifer Hand from Cairo HS.(Cairo, GA). These biology students and science club members conducted educational outreachprograms concerning local environmental issues. They focused on the areas water quality issuesincluding the concerns about Cairos wastewater treatment facility and the degrading of the waterquality of the Ochlockonee River.

This past week we got the following email from Jennifer.

Hi everyone. I have some really exciting news and wanted to share it with you. I just found out lastweek that the environmental projects (St. Francis Wildlife Program, America Recycles Day Camp,and Water Quality Project) I did with my students earned them the Presidents Environmental YouthAward. They are the Region 4 National Winners and will be honored in Washington DC thisspring...hopefully the President himself will present the students with the award. ... Many of youwere very helpful and provided my students a lot of help and insight. I REALLY appreciate it and feltyou should also celebrate YOUR efforts to help these kids. I really believe your help along with rec-ognition is going to help increase their achievement. I also think it will help produce students whoare environmental stewards! I have included a link to info about the award. Thanks again, JenniferHand

The link is http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/awards.html

Drawing by Kirsten Munson


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Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. PostagePaid

Permit No. 30

Tallahassee, FL

Apalachee Audubon Society, Inc.

P.O. Box 1237

Tallahassee, FL 32302-1237

To check membership status, or to change address, call the National Audubon Society Office at 1-800-274-4201 or email

[email protected]

Monthly meetings, field trips, conservation activities and bird walks

Audubon CalendarMonthly meetings are free and open to the public. They are held at the United Church at 1834 Mahan Drive.

Most evenings begin with an informal social at 7:00 p.m. followed by announcements and the program at 7:30.Unless otherwise stated, field trips depart from the Wachovia Bank at 3400 S. Monroe Street (opposite the Fair-

grounds). Note the time of departure in the description for each trip. For more info check out our web site at

www.apalachee.org

Wednesday, November 17, Membership program. See page one.

Saturday, November 20, Field trip. Meet at Birdsong at 8:30 AM for a special birder-oriented tour ofthe grounds.

Saturday, January 15, Bird Walk. Meet at 8:00 AM at the Wachovia Bank for a casual morning bird-walk in the Tallahassee area.

Wednesday, January 26. Membership program. Bradley Smith, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conserva-tion Commission, Panama City office. Brad is a non-game biologist in the Florida Panhandle monitoringrooftop nesters, primarily Least Terns, and other important breeding colonies in the Bay County area.

Saturday, February 5, Fieldtrip. Bradley Smith will show us important bird areas around the St. Jo-seph State Park. This is one of his favorite areas and we should see good birds and other wildlife andmatch them to their habitat. To Carpool, meet at the Wachovia Bank on North Monroe (across fromFairgrounds) at 7:30 AM or the St. Joseph State Park Entrance on Cape San Blas at 9:30 AM.

Wednesday, February 23, Membership program. Pat Casselberry, former President of Citrus CountyAudubon, will discuss efforts to protect Floridas growing flock of migratory and resident WhoopingCranes.

Documents

Nov 2004 Apalachee Audubon Society Newsletter