Photo: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Saipriya Sharma/Audubon Photography Awards
Libby Lyons
It is time to welcome Fall! I truly appreciate this season. The weather finally cools, making birdwatching and on-the-ground conservation work so much more comfortable, especially on crisp, clear days. As the autumn days shorten, we welcome our returning winter residents and are treated to another chance to see our visiting migrants as they head south. And I like this time of year because it is when our organization looks back at our activities during the last fiscal year and gears up for the coming year.
Last fiscal year was a busy and productive one with too many examples to list, but a sample follows. We welcomed more volunteers across many of our activities. Our Stretch Our Parks initiative hit its stride across all three of its pilot projects, with conservation and education programs that involved neighborhood associations, groups from schools and faith communities, citizen scientists, our park partners, and more. We undertook a rigorous process to examine our name, and, after substantial community input and careful consideration, we chose to rename our organization. We engaged a wide range of northern Virginia communities and debuted a “Spanish language channel” on our website that featured translations of background information and recent articles. And we were fortunate recipients of considerable generosity, most notably in the form of two large bequests that help position NVBA to increase its impact.
As I look forward, I am very excited about NVBA’s future. Your generous donations and those bequests have allowed us to plan for a stronger organization, one that can sustain our larger number of activities and volunteers, and further our conservation goals. A key step in that process is hiring a full-time Executive Director, and we are in the middle of that process now. We also are hiring a new half-time Volunteer Coordinator, following the retirement of Meg Oakley, who tirelessly strengthened our volunteer recruitment, training, and deployment. Our applicant pools are strong, so we look forward to bringing on two folks with high levels of energy, exceptional people skills, and a passion for birds and conservation.
Another step in NVBA’s growth is embracing more strategically our role as a regional conservation organization. In October we are hosting a large symposium that will convene many of our partners from across NOVA to share best practices in habitat conservation. We will explore how regional organizations such as NVBA can play a unique and more active role in protecting birds and nature across the area.
You can participate in an example of a strategic partnership already taking action by attending the October 9 Bird Safe NOVA program. The campaign is sponsored by NVBA, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, DarkSky Virginia, DarkSky NOVA, Nature Forward, the Friends of Dyke Marsh, and the Friends of Little Hunting Creek. Its conservation goal is three-pronged: increasing the number of households and commercial buildings that turn out lights from 11 pm to 6 am during spring and fall migration, advocating for reduced light pollution, and working to reduce bird collisions with glass. All are welcome to this free program.
So, Happy Fall! Thank you for your continued support and please join us in the year ahead as we work to conserve and enjoy nature in our region!