Test Post!

Lehigh Valley

Bird Town Coalition

 

Vision: Municipalities within the Lehigh Valley are places where people love to live, work, and visit because the residents and officials actively support and recognize the value of birds and nature to thTeir own quality of life and culture. 

Mission: To create a sustainable driver for regional long term environmental stewardship across the Lehigh Valley by creating awareness of the linkage of birds to the natural environment.  

Audubon Bird Town works to protect birds, not only because they are beautiful and awe inspiring, but because they are the touchstone of biological health. The vast distances they travel and the diverse ecosystems on which they depend, make them unique barometers of our planets health as well as our neighborhoods and backyards.  When birds are at risk, so too is the greater ecosystem, the intricate web of life, and ultimately, humans.  When we help birds and their habitats we help ourselves.

Lehigh Valley Bird Town: The coalition was founded to support Allentown Bird Town, but quickly expanded in recognition that Allentown’s success would be enhanced by involvement across the Lehigh Valley. The coalition is a collaboration of independent organizations brought together through our shared mission. By working closely together, the coalition will build success by leveraging individual and joint efforts of its members while each organization retains its own separate identity. Through our activities we will achieve broad demographic, geographic and habitat coverage. All of our activities will encourage proper Birding ethics.

Coalition Membership: We encourage regional and local, private, public and government organizations that share our mission and are willing to participate by supporting Bird Town events, habitat demonstration, or funding. It is our hope that additional Audubon Bird Towns will be created within the geography of this coalition.

 

Goals and example measures:

To create a broader awareness of birds in the Lehigh Valley and to demonstrate the positive impact that improving their natural habitat has on increasing bird numbers and diversity by engaging municipalities, schools,  universities, non-profits, businesses and Audubon Chapters to participate.

1. Increase awareness of birds throughout the Lehigh Valley as the foundation to the success of LVBT’s through branding, municipal Bird Town participation, backyard design training, school programs, Facebook and web presence, media participation, and community events.

Example measures – New Bird Towns, increase number of students completing bird classes, attendance at Bird town and coalition member events, number of people trained in backyard design, Facebook Likes.

1. Connect more people to nature through birding activities such as bird watching in public locations, bird feeding, backyard bird counts, bird reporting

Example measures – Attendance at Audubon, Bird town and coalition member events

 

1. Increase awareness of the benefit of habitat improvement to birds, and encourage residents, businesses and government to initiate their own projects such as through seminars on native plants, invasive plant management, bird landscape need

Example measures – Participation at seminars

1. Demonstrate the connection between increased bird population and diversity through habitat improvement projects (such as planting natives, removing invasives, eliminating predators) including backyards, parks, sanctuaries, and business campuses.

Example measures – Increase bird count records in improved habitat areas, maps that identify project locations, municipal participation and measures of stewardship,  public and school involvement, backyard bird registrations

 

1. Encourage grass-roots involvement and sharing across the Lehigh Valley to create new strategies, tools, and skills that elevate action at all scales.

Example measures – Increased involvement of groups or individuals not previously envisioned, involvement of non-public or residential land, properties completing backyard designs.