| Year III Volunteer Days Begin This Fall! |
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According to a recent Deloitte survey, deeper volunteer engagement by corporate America is key to success in achieving social goals. |
Third time's a charm? TogetherGreen Volunteer Days hope so.
This September marks the kick off of Year III for TogetherGreen Volunteer Days. Thirty eight sites, located across 26 different states, from Oregon to Missouri to New York, will offer an abundance of conservation activities for groups, students, families and individuals.
Each Volunteer Day site receives funds of up to $9,000 to hold as many as six events annually, focused on reaching new audiences, connecting people with nature, and producing conservation results.
Ready to get out and volunteer? |
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The following Audubon sites will host Volunteer Days through next summer:
- Arctic Audubon Society, Fairbanks AK
- Kodiak Audubon Society, Kodiak AK
- Audubon Arkansas - Northwest office, Fayetteville AR
- Audubon Arkansas, Little Rock AR
- Tucson Audubon Society, Tucson AZ
- Arizona IBA program, Phoenix AZ
- Former Fellow Jose Marcos-Iga with Tucson Audubon, Tucson AZ
- Golden Gate Audubon Society, Berkeley CA
- Los Angeles Audubon Society, Los Angeles CA
- Richardson Bay Audubon Center, Tiburon CA
- Weminuche Audubon Society, Pagosa Springs CO
- South Florida Audubon Society, Tamarac FL
- Audubon Center Birds of Prey, Maitland FL
- Georgia IBA program, Barnesville GA
- Former Fellow Karen Ramirez with Thorn Creek Audubon, Park Forest IL
- Former Fellow Gloria Villagas-Cardoza with Mass Audubon, Lincoln MA
- Pickering Creek Audubon Center, Easton MD
- Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, Falmouth ME
- Wildcat Glades Audubon Center, Joplin MO
- St Louis Audubon Society, Maryland Heights MO
- Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs MS
- Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, Denton NE
- Audubon New Mexico, Las Cruces NM
- Lahontan-Nevada IBA program, Sparks NV
- Buffalo Audubon Society, North Java NY
- New York City Audubon Society, New York NY
- Aullwood Audubon Center, Dayton OH
- Tulsa Audubon Society, Bixby OK
- Audubon Society of Portland, Portland OR
- Former Fellow Eric Clough with Cape Arago Audubon, Coos Bay OR
- Audubon Pennsylvania, Audubon PA
- Beidler Forest Audubon Center, Harleyville SC
- Travis Audubon Society, Austin TX
- Trinity River Audubon Center, Dallas TX
- Mitchell Lake Audubon Society, San Antonio TX
- Virginia IBA program, Richmond VA
- Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington VT
- Seward Park Audubon Center, Seattle WA
Volunteer Days are designed to connect people with opportunities to make a conservation difference in their local communities. By building stronger alliances with other national and local organizations, Audubon hopes to attract new and diverse volunteers to help address pressing environmental problems and opportunities.
To find out how to get involved with a Volunteer Day site near you, please visit www.togethergreen.org/volunteer. |
Volunteers team up to restore Seattle's Seward Park
You're never too young to plant native plants!
A young environmentalist builds a nestbox.
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| Mickey Lee Helps Businesses Help Communities Help Nature! |
Mickey Lee, MBA
At the school's Carbon Footprint Fair, students learned about alternative energy and read the attendees' own carbon footprints! |
With major corporations like Apple and Starbucks greening their business practices and their products (and companies like BP being held accountable for their role in the Gulf oilspill), corporate social responsibility is more important than ever before.
TogetherGreen Fellow Mickey Lee, who is a stretegic director at Carbon Concierge, is working to help corporations harness that desire to do good and channeling it into creating local conservation action.
“It’s becoming increasingly important for communities to problem solve together with corporate support, to maintain and grow the focus on conservation—both conservation of natural resources and conservation of our cultures and communities,” said Mickey.
By linking Portland-area communities that are in need of education and jobs to socially-minded companies, Mickey’s project creates opportunities for corporations to develop direct relationships with communities. The private sector can support the conservation, job creation, and education programs that improve their communities and environment—at the same time, creating awareness about the wide ranging opportunities to address conservation.
While building a mutually-beneficial relationship between companies and communities is a big job, like any good conservationist, Mickey knows that changes happen in steps. For the first part of her TogetherGreen Fellowship project, Mickey led a solar installation project at a marginalized high-school in Portland—culminating on Earth Day with the students and staff of the school hosting a Carbon Footprint Fair!
More than 600 participants attended the fair, and most had their carbon footprints read by the eager students. Because the students participated at a level that they were not accustomed to, and were treated as the experts during the fair, they really felt the value of their recently gained conservation knowledge. |
Flat solar panel technology is installed atop Jefferson High School, turning a regular ole roof
into an energy-gathering powerhouse
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The next phase of Mickey’s project is collaborating with Portland’s Metro council. By working with their Intertwine Conservation Education working group, Mickey hopes to establish additional private sector support for programs that increase student achievement and environmental literacy, such as Outdoor School.
“I always consider a project a success when you bring people together to solve problems,” said Mickey. “When you can find unified vision based on separate experiences and unique talents, there is a lot that can be accomplished.”
Mickey practices the same relationship-building work she preaches, too. Though this project was her brainchild, she had a little help from her friends—2008 Fellows Marcelo Bonta and Tony DeFalco!
“I witnessed a core focus on environmental equity in both Tony and Marcelo and it made me eager to work with them,” said Mickey. “They introduced me to community and national partners, advised me on best strategies for bridging community partners and overall continue to celebrate my successes throughout this process. I still had a lot of work to do on my own, and yet they both made the path smoother along the way!”
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Molly Tsongas Uses Tattoos as "Carrot" for Species Protection in California
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Molly Tsongas at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia.
Custom tattoo design of the endangered Leatherback Sea Turtle by Karen Roze, founder of Sacred Rose Tattoo in Berkeley, CA.
At Oakland Art Murmur, Tatzoo invited young people to pick their favorite species. This attendee chose the Southern Sea Otter.
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What is Tatzoo? Tatzoo is a good-natured contest to help endangered species in California. We are on the verge of the sixth greatest extinction in over 25 million years, threatening to kill as many as 30 percent of all species within my lifetime. I believe my generation must unleash our fresh ideas, fearless attitudes, and social connectivity to tackle this crisis, starting with our local species and communities.
There are simple rules for the challenge:
1) Be a California resident between the ages of 18 to 35
2) Pick your favorite endangered species. You can choose from 15 amazing creatures, including a massive blue whale, sleepy owl, lovable sea otter, colorful snake, and tiny butterfly! Find the full list here.
3) Devise an idea to raise awareness about your species, with the goal of reaching 100 people over 100 days (August 5th - November 16th).
3) Post your idea to the Tatzoo Facebook wall to enter: Deadline for submissions is August 5th.
The 15 people with the top-rated ideas for raising awareness about each species will receive a free FLIP camera to document their project and a sweet tattoo, donated by a world-class artist, for their leadership.
My best advice is to pick a species you love and submit an idea you’ll have fun doing!
How will your project help conserve Californian nature, and how do you hope it will impact the local community?
Tatzoo is founded on three core beliefs:
- The Millennial generation cares deeply about animals and plants
- The biodiversity movement needs fun, personal and out-of-the-box ideas to educate and activate youth
- If local people protect local species, we can collectively protect the web of life.
As a result, Tatzoo aims to diversify and expand the conservation movement by connecting young leaders, crowd-sourcing innovative ideas for raising awareness about California’s endangered species, and cultivating a community of local people who are taking action to protect biodiversity. And to do it in a way that is contagious.
Why did you choose to make tattoos part of this project?
Tattoos are a big attraction for young people. Nearly four out of ten Millennials have a tattoo and the Bay Area is one of the biggest tattoo capitals in the world. Incorporating body artwork provides a unique way for people to personally connect with their species and commemorate their leadership. This approach also counters the urge to respond to the overwhelming extinction crisis with apathy. Instead, we forge a permanent bond that focuses on one species at a time. Plus, it adds a nice weeding-out feature—we only attract people who really care!
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How can people get involved?
1) Spread the word about Tatzoo to your friends, colleagues, and family
2) Join our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tatzoo
3) Help bring Tatzoo to your state! Email us at tatzooproject@gmail.com to join our team
If you had 30 seconds in an elevator with Oprah, how would you describe your TogetherGreen Fellowship project to her to get her interested?
Obviously, I'd recruit her to participate, a la "O, you've done amazing things in your life, but there is still one thing left to do—get a Tatzoo. You would be perfectly matched with the species that needs your help the most—the majestic California condor. It is our most critically endangered species—a pure survivor—making a painstaking and phenomenal comeback from an all-time low of 22 individuals, decimated by decades of shootings and poisonings. Since it can't afford to leave its critical chick rearing responsibilities to be on your show, you can serve as its ambassador to show Americans the importance of protecting our nation’s endangered biodiversity. And to maximize your impact, you can invite your viewers to join you, promising that for each person that gets a California condor tattoo with you, you will donate $100 dollars to the Ventana Wildlife Society, to support the heroes working to save these magnificent birds every day. Doing good gives you wings—let the condor give you its 7 foot wingspan. Can I count on you?" |
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Audubon Colorado Turns Young Minds on to Energy Conservation
In only two short years, Audubon Colorado turned an idea—to teach elementary school students about saving energy and money—into an established program in 10 schools in Denver. In the process, Audubon is building a robust and productive partnership with FrontRange Earth Force.
Through its TogetherGreen-supported "TogetherGreen Schools", Audubon Colorado is making energy conservation accessible by bringing it into the classroom—and giving kids ownership of how the projects develop.
Using a specially-developed toolkit, which includes a step-by-step guide to reducing carbon footprints, energy awareness activities and audits, and information on lighting, appliances, and more, students are able to implement self-designed energy saving projects right in their schools.
Students learn about energy consumption and efficiency through one of Audubon Colorado's interactive games. |
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“Energy conservation is interesting to the students because it is NEW!” said Stephanie DeMattee, IBA and Conservation Programs Coordinator for Audubon Colorado. “When the students get the opportunity to present their projects to their parents at the end of the year, it is rewarding to watch their pride grow while showing off their energy reduction accomplishments.”
So far, 10 Denver-area schools have implemented their students’ energy-saving projects. Hundreds of teachers have received Audubon Colorado’s toolkit and are using portions of it in their classrooms. And most impressively, more than 200 students have created energy-saving projects for their schools to use! That’s a lot of young minds that have been turned “on” to energy conservation—and Audubon Colorado plans to expand to more schools not only in Denver, but also in rural Colorado.
One of the program’s big goals is to leave an impression on the students that will last a lifetime, helping them to make good conservation choices in the future. Because the lessons in the toolkit are self-driven, each student is held responsible for the change that they make, motivating them to make the biggest changes. The toolkit even has a section where each student evaluates their carbon consumption. It forces them to look at all of the bad energy habits that they’ve learned and figure out how to change them.
With Audubon Colorado leading the way, it appears that the students have already become the masters:
“I challenged one of the students to one of the toolkit games—that I had created—and he beat me! I will never live that one down; however, I learned that the students are really taking energy conservation to heart and that our materials are really working in the communities that we have touched so far!” said Stephanie.
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St. Louis Audubon Has a Vision for the Mississipi River: Students as Stewards!
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RiverVision participants get to know the river with nothing more than a pair of waders, some nets, and their own two hands
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Why is your project important (for people, wildlife, conservation)?
The RiverVision Leadership Project introduces middle and high school age students to the Mississippi River in a way that they have not experienced before. We introduce the students to the variety of uses that communities have for the River, as well as the natural beauty and significance of the River. These are important experiences to build a conservation ethic on behalf of the Mississippi. They are also important in terms of leadership development in students—they demonstrate to the students that effective decision-making on complicated issues requires deep understanding and analysis, and not a reduction of issues to simple soundbite solutions.
What groups are involved in this project?
The Audubon Center at Riverlands has partnered with the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Crossroads College Preparatory School to implement the RiverVision Leadership Project. Students visit with environmental groups, the Corps of Engineers, the Metropolitan Sewer District, the barge industry, and others involved in water issues. Exposure to a diverse group of water professionals introduces students to the delicate balance that environmentally-minded leaders must find in their decision-making activities. |
What progress has RiverVision made so far?
The RiverVision program involved 140 middle and high school students in activities within their school, in field trips to sites around the region, including a water treatment plant, a sewage treatment plant, the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, and the National Great Rivers Museum. In addition, water professionals visited the students at their school to discuss their roles with the students. The students enjoyed a day of fishing and canoeing on the River as well. A culminating panel discussion was held at the world-famous Missouri Botanical Garden and included leadership from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Metropolitan Sewer District, Missouri American Water, and Audubon.
What has been your favorite moment while working on this project?
Cabella’s provided a fishing camp for the kids, as part of the program. Many of the students had never been fishing before. There was great hesitancy on the part of several students in the fishing activity, until they actually tried it! Several of them caught their first fish, and then there was no stopping them after that!
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A RiverVision student gets up close and personal with one of the Mississippi's many inhabitants
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What do you think the impact of RiverVision will be on the participating students?
I think students will have a deeper appreciation for the river and many of the competing pressures on its uses. I also think that these students, most of whom live in a highly urbanized area, will experience the river in a powerfully beautiful new way. At the beginning of the program, when asked to describe the River, one student used these adjectives: brown, dirty, and stinky. To me, this sounds as if it comes from someone who has already turned her back on the River. I think that the RiverVision program will show students how they can embrace the River, take better care of it, and understand its great significance to our region, for both wildlife and people. |
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Spring Creek Puts the Spring in Volunteers’ Step with Tallgrass Prairie Restoration
Picture this: 808 acres of beautiful native tallgrass prairie with expansive skies and rolling hills. Miles of walking trails wind through prairie, wetlands, and woodlands, taking visitors on an amazing tour of nature.
Paradise? Almost. It’s Spring Creek Prairie, home of Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center and site of TogetherGreen Volunteer Days.
With more than 100 volunteers participating in Volunteer Day efforts, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center has helped make a big impact in preserving that idyllic—albeit threatened—tallgrass prairie.
In the past year, volunteers have surveyed the prairie plant diversity, increasing the data available for scientists to use when making important conservation plans. Volunteers also helped renovate a windbreak, which is a hedge or fence of trees designed to lessen the force of the wind and reduce erosion, both saving energy in the Center's building and making a visitor's experience a little more pleasant in the winter!
At Spring Creek Prairie, volunteers renovated a windbreak to help save energy |
The Denton community was able to come together and have great fun, while participating in prairie conservation at the same time.
“It is a wonderful experience to have volunteers, who have just worked very hard for the prairie, thank us for making it possible for them!” said Marian Langan, the Center director.
“It was amazing to see how excited everyone got about the tadpoles that were found that had red tails!” said Marian. “It turns out they were tree frog tadpoles—and we've found tree frogs here, but not the tadpoles. It was a riot!”
With so many enjoyable outings had and volunteer connections made, it might be hard to choose just one favorite moment, but Marian’s is that pure excitement generated when volunteers get to go out and truly experience the prairie for the first time. "People really do have an "aha" moment," she quipped.
Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, supported by its dedicated crew of volunteers, hopes to continue to build on what Volunteer Days have already accomplished into the future.
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Pennies for the Planet Rocks Out with Columbia Elementary in Virginia!
Raising $767.41, or more than 76,700 pennies, is no small feat for anyone, and deserves a big round of applause.
But when that money is collected by the 400 students and teachers of Columbia Elementary School, and donated to Audubon and Toyota’s Pennies for the Planet campaign, it deserves a celebration!
Columbia Elementary of Annandale, Virginia, raised more money for Pennies for the Planet than any school in the nation this year (by Audubon’s April 30th deadline). Their amazing contribution earned them the Pennies for the Planet grand prize: a BioBash party!
On June 10th, Audubon educators and Billy B, “The Natural Science Song and Dance Man”, brought the party to the Columbia Elementary student body.
Students and teachers were treated to a fun trivia contest—with the winners receiving Audubon bird plushies—and the presentation of a giant check, written out to Pennies for the Planet. All of the students received Pennies for the Planet tattoos, wristbands, and buttons, too!
For the grand finale, Billy B brought the house down with his song and dance routine, focused on environmental themes like biodiversity and predator/prey relationships. Some lucky students even got to join Billy B on-stage for the dance numbers!
Big things can happen thanks to small change—and the kids of Columbia Elementary have certainly made an impact for 2009’s Pennies for the Planet projects: coastal wetland restoration in Louisiana, protection of Panther Island in Florida, and preservation of Snowy Plover beach habitat in California.
Since TogetherGreen started supporting Pennies for the Planet, families, classrooms, and groups across the nation have raised more than $45,000, or 45 million pennies.
Just how many pennies is 45 million, really? Stacked end to end, they are taller than Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet! Laid on the ground, they would be longer than Lakes Michigan and Huron (440 miles altogether). Now THAT’S what we call creating change!
If you have not yet participated, you have until August 31 (postmark date) to support this year's Pennies campaign. A whole new campaign kicks off in the Fall. If you would like to be informed when the new educational materials are available, please send us an e-mail. |
Columbia students present Audubon with a check for their contribution
Columbia students sing and dance with environmental entertainer Billy B
Columbia students put their hands in the air!
Columbia Elementary School teacher
Jessica Terpstra leads the trivia
contest
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