Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society

Environmental Advocacy SCVAS is one of the most active and successful environmental advocacy organizations in the South Bay area. Our staff Environmental Advocate and volunteer members of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC) engage in a large spectrum of activities with focus on the protection of birds and wildlife habitat as development in our region intensifies. This includes advocacy for the protection of open space, riparian corridors, wetlands and the Bay as well as advocacy for ecological urban design that focuses on increasing canopy and green infrastructure, planting California native vegetation, and implementing dark skies and bird safe design policies. Audiences of our advocacy efforts include decision makers, advisory boards and staff in many of our local cities, agencies and jurisdictions. Advocacy work includes: engaging as stakeholders in Conservation planning efforts, Master Planning and Strategic Planning processes; writing comment letters on CEQA documents for Master Plans and development projects; writing advocacy letters to and/or meeting with community members, local agencies' staff, commissioners and elected officials; Preparing educational materials, including webinars and short videos, for a wide audience; and informing our members to issues of interest where their engagement is encouraged. We also partner with other conservation and natural history organizations and/or work with local neighborhoods, encouraging community members to plant trees and native landscaping to support biodiversity and to advance conservation of birds and wildlife habitats. conservation and natural history organizations in the south bay. Conservation Burrowing owls: SCVAS continues to manage habitat for burrowing owls on a 200-acre site in San Jose. This work includes population surveys for burrowing owls and predator species, vegetation management, and reporting to the City of San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, Our biologists continue to create strategies to improve the habitat and increase breeding success. Cavity nesters: Since 1997, SCVAS has led the Cavity Nesters Recovery Program, which trains volunteers to establish and monitor nest box trails for cavity-nesting birds across Santa Clara County. In addition, our program provides nest boxes for volunteers who collaborate with other local organizations and authorities to install nest boxes at parks, open spaces, schools, businesses, etc. Nest boxes provide crucial habitat for 24 species of cavity-nesting birds in the county, species that continue to suffer from increased habitat loss from urban development. In addition to serving as crucial habitat mitigation, nest boxes also give volunteers a way to monitor bird populations through weekly checks, where data on fledging and predation can be recorded. This data is submitted to the California Bluebird Recovery Program at the end of each nesting season, and then statewide data is available to scientists nationwide. Bio Blitzes: We lead and/or collaborate with other organizations to offer bioblitz events in parks and open space. The data is recorded with Inaturalist, a community-science platform available to all.

Membership Benefits SCVAS reaches out to the public to promote the enjoyment, understanding, and protection of birds and other wildlife by engaging people of all ages in birding, education, and conservation. We provide a free Speaker Series featuring notable environmental personalities (these talks switched to being online via Zoom after we had to stop holding in-person events). We lead free birding field trips lead by volunteers (also moved to online events as described above), host classes on birding, wildlife illustration, photography and other related activities. We have a vibrant online presence including a freshly redesigned website, Facebook, and Instagram social media and we host a collection of educational videos on our new YouTube channel. Since 1929, SCVAS has published its member newsletter on a regular schedule. Recently the "Avocet" was transitioned from bimonthly to a quarterly schedule, roughly corresponding to the seasonal movement of birds. The change meant more content per issue, increased page count, and a need for new and improved versatile design. The Avocet is now available online. Additionally, monthly updates are produced and emailed directly to members. The cost of newsletter publication, web hosting, teleconferencing, instructional materials and other expenses are supported through membership dues.

Education and Outreach School Programs: The Wetlands Discovery Program has been inspiring young minds to become more involved in conservation since 1988. We aim to show students, grades 3-5, the value of wetlands and how they support the birds and other wildlife that inhabit them. By giving students practical hands-on experience with these concepts, we hope to encourage them to consider the impact they are having on the earth, and to determine ways that they can make a difference. Key conservation concepts are first covered through materials that are provided to schoolteachers by SCVAS. SCVAS docents then visit the schools to reinforce these concepts by helping students work through activity stations that cover environmental topics ranging from bird adaptations and migration, to human impact and ecosystem interactions. Students are also trained to use binoculars in preparation for the field trip. On the day of the trip, docents lead students on a nature walk around local baylands and challenge them to apply their newfound knowledge. This experience allows students to see and understand how the concepts they have learned play out in the real world. We have also found through student evaluations that most have never been bird watching or visited a wetland prior to our program. After the program's completion, an overwhelming majority of students show an interest in bird watching at the wetlands again. Though we continue to receive positive feedback on this program, we regularly use student and teacher feedback to evaluate our curriculum and make changes to increase its effectiveness. Beyond the Wetlands Discovery Program, we offer several other education programs that are targeted towards both adults and families. These include beginning bird identification by sight and sound, nest box building workshops to create bird habitat, community science activities, and customized programs on local birds and bird adaptations. We are proud to offer a variety of education programs to promote the enjoyment, understanding, and protection of birds and other wildlife, to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Currently we are assembling materials and gathering data on a protected area in Coyote Valley where we will launch a new education program for high school students in mid-county schools. Due to the coronavirus pandemic however, our in-class programs and field trips were greatly reduced in 2022. We have used the time away from classrooms and students to refine our programs for distance learning. We will continue to offer virtual learning for accessibility purposes post-COVID. PUBLIC FIELD TRIPS: SCVAS considers the field trips we offer to be an equally important part of our education program. Open to members and to the public, our carefully selected itinerary of destinations, seasonal planning, and experienced field trip leaders ensure attendees leave each trip having had a learning experience. From bird behavior, vocalizations, migration, anatomy, and obviously identification, the trips are not merely show-and-tell, but observe-and-understand. The firsthand experience of seeing local birdlife in all its variety is an experience of a lifetime-one that can be had not just once, but several dozen times a year. We strive to make that available to everyone who wishes to spend a few hours with us, and care about and appreciate our birds. Covid, as expected, changed everything. We quickly explored ideas such as virtual birding tours on YouTube, live broadcasts on Facebook, and a selection of "Birding Locations," which guided birders to local hotspots where they could observe social distancing while birding at their own pace. When field trips resume again, SCVAS will continue to explore these new online opportunities to share our love of nature with anyone who prefers, or is unable, to join in person. We are currently working on a public high school curriculum inspired by the Wetlands Discovery Program. The new 3-year program is called the Oak Savana Community Science Program and was made possible through a grant from the Open Space Authority. It includes public bird surveys and bioblitzes to catalog the animals and plants on a restricted site in north Coyote Valley. The data collected by participants will feed directly into the brand new high school curriculum to be launched in the fall of 2022. We continue to broaden our outreach efforts with Mandarin Language walks, LGBTQ+ and Women's Walks-all programs that encourage inclusivity and building an accepting community.