Photo: Springfield Bog by Tom Fishburn.

With the rapid growth of the human population comes the demand for more land and resources. According to Wildlife Biologist Kevin Kenow of the U.S Geological Survey’s Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, the ideal habitat for migrating birds is disappearing. 

WCAS hosted the program, “Conservation Stories of Western Cuyahoga Audubon” on November 6, 2018 that featured personal reports by WCAS members who participated in three conservation projects: Donald Gray Gardens (1985-1996), Dike 14/Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve (circa 2000-2012), and Rocky River Important Bird Area Surveys (2006-2012). This is the accompanying slide show.

An enterprising teacher at the Cambridge, Ohio school who runs the ‘Bobcat Coffee Company’ uses Birds and Beans coffee for a project that  gives special needs students the opportunity to learn how to run a small business. Projects like this make a difference for birds, habitat, farming families and all youth throughout the Americas.

Photo: Environmental Layers by Alice Merkel at Cleveland Metroparks, Rocky River Reservation, Valley Pkwy, North Olmsted, OH 44070.

Now more than ever, it is imperative Ohio conservation interests connect, communicate, and collaborate as a united front for nature and the environment.

Photo: Natural Landscape by Alice Merkel at Cleveland Metroparks, Rocky River Reservation, Valley Pkwy, North Olmsted, OH 44070

WCAS’s Carbon Offset Project, begun several years ago and modeled after an effort launched at the 2011 Midwest Birding Symposium, is a way for members to make contributions that offset their use of carbon while participating in birding activities (or any other activities) that requires travel. ​

Photo: Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis) by Chuck Slusarczyk Jr.

The partnership between Black River Audubon and Lorain County Community College (LCCC) recognizes the 21-acre preserve as an important resource for the college ecological curriculum and serves as an example to the community of the need for conservation of meadow environments.

Above: Sunrise at San Juan del Rio Coco, Nicaragua. The highlands of northern Nicaragua, a productive shade coffee-growing region and refuge for migratory birds in winter. Photo by Scott Weidensaul.

Americans drink over a third of the world’s coffee. If we all buy and drink Bird Friendly certified coffee, songbirds, farmers and future generations of bird lovers will be sure that the birds return every year.

We had to start from the beginning to develop these methods but they are now becoming basic tools for seabird conservation. I know of at least fifty species of seabirds that have benefitted by the same methods that were pioneered in Maine. - Dr. Stephen Kress, Vice-President for Bird Conservation, National Audubon Society and Director, Seabird Restoration Program & Hog Island Camp. 

Marko talks about his passion for diving and underwater photography, inspirations for 'TALE OF A LAKE', environmental change, and how stories can show the beauty of nature and create an indelible human connection for consequence.

Stefanie Spear, Founder & CEO, EcoWatch and Tom Romito, Western Cuyahoga Audubon, explore what it means to lead a biocentric lifestyle and in doing so, how people become more aware and connected to nature.

Important Bird Areas (IBA's) are documented for bird and habitat significance. IBA data builds valuable databases to help scientists track forest changes and understand climate change.

After 1992, I was following my people in my generation who were hunting birds. Because of my conservation background, in my mind and my heart, I had to protect my nature. I started to stop them. At that time I shifted from flora to becoming an ornithologist. I became, in 2010, in Brazil, a global ornithologist. ~ Imad Al Atrash

We need to update and strengthen The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to address 21st century threats, such as oil pits, power lines, communications towers, and other deadly hazards, to save the lives of millions of birds. ~ National Audubon Society

“The convergence of these changing technologies, and the changing demographics, and the changing preferences among different age groups, to me, spells greater opportunity than we’ve had at any time in my lifetime.”  ~ Jerry Tinianow, Chief Sustainability Officer, City and County of Denver, Colorado

Audubon had become a collection of proudly disconnected states full of passionate, independent chapters, so thinking bigger meant finding a vision that transcended borders.

​A conversation with Tom Romito, Western Cuyahoga Audubon and Stefanie Spear, Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of EcoWatch about education, leadership and social change to help our planet survive and thrive.

“Careful siting” is the phrase bird-friendly people use when the discussion comes around to wind turbines.

One of the first things that nature provides is beauty, artistic inspiration, a sense of spirituality, and awe. ​

At the 2016 NEOSEF, ​Western Cuyahoga Audubon made awards for outstanding projects relating to birds or conservation with emphasis on local watersheds.