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Resiliency in our communities and beyond

Water: Solutions

“Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink.”

This well-known line from Samuel Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has been stuck in my head for the past month. It all started when I read a startling book by Lily Brooks-Dalton called “The Light Pirate,” which presents an apocalyptic vision of a Florida that faces more and more powerful hurricanes bearing down on it each year. Over time, governments can no longer afford to clean up and rebuild infrastructure like roads, bridges and power. The state is literally and figuratively under water and people are forced to flee to other parts of the country.

Now I am not one whose literary tastes bend towards catastrophe and dystopia, yet the book entranced me. It is beautifully written and I enjoyed getting to know the protagonist—a woman named Wanda who was born during a hurricane. And, honestly, the book has an air of “this is an entirely plausible future” to it that kept me turning the pages.

In June, the John James Audubon Center hosted an evening focused on water and water-related infrastructure in southeastern PA. More than 80 people attended to listen to a conversation moderated by Audubon’s Tess Wilson and conducted by local PA Representative Joe Webster, Montgomery County planner Drew Shaw and Audubon’s Robin Irizarry. The group discussed how governments need to incorporate climate change “knowns” (in southeastern Pennsylvania, this means more storms and more intense rainfalls) into infrastructure planning. One solution is offered up in nature itself— use trees, wetlands, bioswales to capture rain as it falls before it can run into and flood local streams and rivers. The night was a good reminder of why we need to take steps now to make our communities more climate change resilient even as we push to decrease the use of carbon-based energy.

Finally, I reread Coleridge’s poem. His portrayal of a mariner cursed for killing an albatross certainly seems more prophetic now than it did when I was in high school. It was only when the man valued the living creatures around him that he was saved: “a spring of love gushed from my heart,” wrote Coleridge. So too must we value and protect birds and other creatures, if only to save ourselves.

Thank you for your support of Audubon and our work,

Suzanne

Carolina chickadee. Photo: Minnie Lucas

Marshes for Tomorrow Field Blog

Audubon staff in Maryland have been developing a conservation plan to restore 20,000 acres of critical saltmarsh habitat in the Chesapeake. Since May, Audubon’s biologists have been in the field, conducting avian point counts and playback surveys and deploying Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) to observe focus species of birds in the marsh landscape. This work will help create population baselines for bird species—including Saltmarsh Sparrows, Marsh Wrens, Clapper Rails and Virginia Rails—so that Audubon will be able to evaluate population changes once restoration work has occurred. You can read more about the field work in this Marshes for Tomorrow blog written by Coastal Avian biologist Bri Panos.

Audubon and its partners recently hosted Maryland Public Television at the field site in Irish Grove, where producers recorded interviews and field footage for the development of a television segment that is expected to air this fall.

Sunrise in the marsh.

3,000 acres of forested land managed in Pennsylvania!

Working collaboratively with other organizations in the Dynamic Forest Partnership, Audubon Mid-Atlantic's Healthy Forest Program has reached a new milestone: 3,000 acres of forested land in Pennsylvania will benefit from forest management practices aimed at improving forest bird habitat and forest sustainability.

The Healthy Forest Program at Audubon Mid-Atlantic has worked with partners such as the Ruffed Grouse Society and the American Bird Conservancy to help distribute federal grant funding to improve habitat in North-west Pennsylvania. Although much of the work is contracted through consulting foresters who are in Audubon's Endorsed Forester Program, Forest Program Associate Josh Rittenhouse has also spent some hot summer days marking trees to improve wood thrush habitat in the mature forests of the Pennsylvania Wilds region.

This work will help improve water quality and breeding habitat for forest birds. The plans were written by Audubon-endorsed foresters and reviewed by Audubon Mid-Atlantic Forest Program staff. These projects will improve habitat for priority species of bird such as Golden-Winged and Cerulean Warblers, Wood Thrush, Woodcock, and Ruffed Grouse.

This project is an example of how Audubon Mid-Atlantic's Healthy Forest Program delivers in its mission to provide climate-resilient forest bird habitat through partnership.

Josh Rittenhouse in the forest site.

PBS feature of Bird Safe Philly

The PBS NewsHour featured Bird Safe Philly in a segment that aired on Saturday, June 15th. Bird Safe Philly is an effort that creates safe spaces for birds to thrive, by spreading awareness of the issue of bird collisions in the built environment. One of its most successful efforts to-date has been Lights Out Philly, which encourages office building owners in the Philadelphia business district to turn off their lights at night during spring and fall migration seasons. Doing so helps to prevent birds from flying into glass.

This important work involves the collaboration of many organizations, including Wyncote Audubon Society, Valley Forge Audubon Society, The Academy of Natural Science, The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, and the National Audubon Society. Audubon Mid-Atlantic's Delaware River Watershed Program Manager, Robin Irizarry, is featured in the video. You can view it on the PBS NewsHour YouTube channel, here.

Cerulean warbler. Photo: Charlie Trapani

Summer Camp Programming at the John James Audubon Center

Learn more about the world of nature during these summer day camps being held this year at the John James Audubon Center (Audubon, PA). Have your child spend the day learning about animals and their habitats in a fun, creative and interesting way. Each of the sessions has a different theme, so you can sign up for more than one. The camps are geared for ages 6-10 years old, and will last from 9:00am to 3:00pm over two days each week. To register, click here.

Children at Audubon event. Photo: Camilla Cerea

Audubon's pollinator gardens in Philadelphia

This past spring, Audubon Mid-Atlantic has continued to work with a wide range of community partners to install native habitat gardens to help green neighborhoods and support local pollinators, birds and other wildlife around Philadelphia. Garden sites have included the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center, Pentridge Children’s Garden, Eastwick Regional Playground, Farm Philly, the Southwest Senior Center, Urban Arts Gallery, and Strawberry Mansion High School. A new woodland pollinator garden was also developed at the Discovery Center with the help of Strawberry Mansion High School students and new summer interns.

Many gardens planted over the past several seasons are really taking off, such as the much loved Cecil Street Garden in Kingsessing, which has grown into an incredible show of wildflowers and native pollinators at this time of year.

Audubon Mid-Atlantic's work to increase native pollinator habitat is made possible by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, through their Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund (DWCF) and collaboration with partners such as the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Thomas Jefferson University, and the National Wildlife Federation. Look for future updates on our pollinator habitat work through Audubon Mid-Atlantic social media.

Cecil Street Community Garden

DNR Funding of Audubon's Baltimore Program

Audubon‘s Baltimore Program received a $250,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resource’s Forest Service to implement a community forestry project in partnership with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks’ Forestry Division. In collaboration with neighbors and local organizations, Audubon will work to improve forest health for migratory birds, the Chesapeake Bay, and our communities. The project will include beautifying the forest edge and replanting interior canopy gaps, establishing formal trailheads and enhancing trails for neighbors to access, and training community partners to integrate forest themes into programming. We look forward to starting in one Baltimore park and neighborhood, then replicating the effort across the city.

Wood thrush. Photo: Linnet Tse

Upcoming Events in the Mid-Atlantic

Board Games Day with DVOC!

Audubon and the Delaware Valley Ornithology Club will host a Board Games Day at Philadelphia’s Discovery Center on Saturday, July 20th from 1:00pm until 4:00pm. Summer is nesting season in our region, and the vast majority of birds are not as active as they were just a few weeks ago. Therefore, we'll take the time to passively appreciate birds while we enjoy each other's company playing Wingspan, Splendor, Aqua-Marooned, Forbidden Island, Codenames and so much more. We can take in the breathtaking views of the reservoir, see what mid-summer birds are around, and play fun games right here at The Discovery Center. Read more here.

Birdwatching Tour of Druid Hill Park

On Saturday, July 20th from 8:00am until 9:30am, Audubon and the Baltimore Bird Club experts will lead a birdwatching tour in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore's oldest large park and home to 745 acres of forests, fields, and a large lake. 189 species of birds have been documented here, including nesting Baltimore orioles and yellow-crowned night herons. No experience necessary. More info and registration on our website here.

•Pennsylvania Events, including the John James Audubon Center and The Discovery Center
•Maryland Events

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Audubon Mid-Atlantic
3401 Reservoir Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19121
(610) 990-3431 | audubon.org

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