AUDUBON ADVENTURES APPEAL - FOR THE 2010/11 SCHOOL YEAR

Our spring appeal for Audubon Adventures is in full swing. This is your invitation to support study of nature and the environment by helping us provide this superb educational program, for children in grades 3 to 6, to teachers in our area free of charge. Teachers tell us that the Audubon Adventures student “newspapers” and supplementary materials do a wonderful job of engaging children’s interest and enthusiasm. The cost for each set of materials, packaged in a sturdy storage box, is $45.65. Contributions are welcome in any amount.

The theme for the 2010/11 school year will be “Migration; wildlife on the move”.

To contribute, please send a check made out to Thorn Creek Audubon Adventures fund, c/o Sue Putnam, 3704 W. 213th St., Matteson, IL.60443 (Be sure to use this address for Sue, not the one in the newsletter, which was incorrect).

Hoping to hear from you, and wishing you a happy spring, bursting with birdsong!
Sue Putnam and Mary Anne McLean, Education committee co-chairs


WILD THINGS CONFERENCE KEYNOTE

Doug Ladd, Director of Conservation Science, Missouri Field Office of The Nature Conservancy., keynote speaker of the 2009 Wild Things conference recently held at the University of Illinois Chicago shared his views on what our environmental focus for the future should be. Here are a few highlights from that speech:
Understand our ignorance - we know relatively very little about our surroundings. Don't get caught up with the big picture problems; protect the organisms (and to do this, we need to really know the organisms). People are part of our biological systems. Know our past (including biological, geological, and human). Know the enemy (the threats to our biological resources), including historical, ongoing, and future threats. Also, we need to determine the source of the threat and treat that, not just the threat itself. Know the value of nature (ecosystem services) - $$ can convince even those who don't necessarily care about the environment. Be vigilent about protecting what we have. These places are irreplaceable and essential. Avoid soundbytes of universal greenery. Examples include wind turbines (1/4 mile radius around turbines have been shown to be dead zones for grassland nesting birds due to noise), and that planting trees will solve climate change problems. Invest in permanent stewardship networks. Know that there is no endpoint for restoration and vegetation community maintenance. Grow beyond our borders - share successes and failures with the rest of the world.