A
Celebration of Special Places
Important Bird Area
Communities Celebrate International Migratory Bird
Day
(Ottawa
– May 9, 2002)… peep-lo…peep-lo…peep-lo…This
is the distinctive clear call of the Piping Plover.
It is just one species among an estimated 350 that
are currently on their migratory route back from
their wintering grounds in the south to their nesting
grounds in North America. On International Migratory
Bird Day (May 11), the Canadian Nature Federation
and communities across Canada will join together
to celebrate and recognize the incredible diversity
of birds and their habitats.
This
year’s theme for International Migratory Bird
Day is “A Celebration
of Special Places”. The Canadian Nature Federation
will be celebrating the occasion by announcing funding
support for 23 community-based bird conservation projects
across the country, through the Important
Bird Areas Community Action Fund.
One
such initiative is British Columbia’s Eagle
Watch Volunteer Interpreter Program, which educates
visitors and residents of the Squamish River Watershed
about Bald Eagles and their relationship within
the delicate ecosystem. The Tramore Theatre Troupe
in Newfoundland will be highlighting the departure
from the local traditions of harvesting birds to
the more modern trend towards seabird tourism. In
Prince Edward Island, the Island Nature Trust is
using a combination of staff, volunteers and community
involvement to protect and monitor nesting plovers
and to encourage landowner stewardship of vital
plover habitat.
The
Important Bird Areas Program is a joint conservation
initiative of the Canadian Nature Federation, Bird
Studies Canada and Birdlife International. Over
the last 3 years the IBA program has helped facilitate
bird conservation in over 120 communities throughout
Canada. “We are so very proud to have the opportunity
to support community-based organizations,”
noted Julie Gelfand, Executive Director of the Canadian
Nature Federation. “As a result of the Important
Bird Areas program, an estimated 25 000 volunteer
hours have been devoted to education, research and
habitat restoration.”
Protecting
habitat is one of the most important things people
can do to protect our native birds. On this International
Migratory Bird Day, please join the CNF in celebrating
these ‘special places’ and our growing
community effort to conserve them.…peep-lo….peep-lo….peep-lo….
BACKGROUNDER
CLARA
HUGHES: "A PASION FOR BIRDS"
