The Bird Education Network (BEN) was created following
the February 2007 National Gathering, hosted by CEE. BEN is a
CEE initiative that seeks to connect and support a network of
bird education professionals.
The building and
strengthening of such a network must overcome seemingly
unconnected outcomes in bird education and conservation. This
can be accomplished when the efforts are seen as hopeful,
creative, and, most importantly, cumulative.
A
BEN Committee has been established to provide advice and
guidance for this important initiative, to advance "bird
conservation through education."
|
|
 Real Nature is
Best
Peter Kahn, environmental psychologist, with his
colleagues at the University of Washington, ran a series
of experiments to see what benefit people might get from
high-quality technological versions of nature.
Installing plasma TV "windows" in workers' otherwise
windowless offices for 16 weeks, providing "views" of
parkland and mountain ranges, created a greater sense of
well-being, clearer thinking, and a greater sense of
connection to the natural world for those office workers
than for those without the "views."
So, HDTV is better than a bare wall. But
is it as good as the real thing?
As reported in the February issue of the
journal Current Directions in Psychological
Science, the actual view of the outdoors had a
greater calming effect after low-level stress. The
plasma window was better than no nature, but not as good
as real nature.
The researchers still underscore the importance
of an actual encounter with nature, something we bird
educators continually stress with the importance of
engagement in the field, the requirement to "connect"
with nature through birds.
Similarly, University of Michigan psychologist
Marc Berman believes that nature actually shifts our
brain from one processing mode to another.
Interacting with nature shifts the mind to a more
relaxed and passive mode, allowing the more analytical
powers to restore themselves. At least that's the
theory, which Berman and his colleagues tested in
experimentation as reported in the journal
Psychological Science.
Subject volunteers who had been on a nature
walk had significantly better focus and attention than
those who had been required to navigate city streets. It
appears that interacting with nature allows workaday
concentration to replenish. Getting into the field and
away from the hurly-burly of modern life actually equips
us to cope better with the stressful demands we
face. The report by Peter Kahn and colleagues can
be found in Current Directions in Psychological
Science by clicking
here. Photo by Jim
Williams | |
 Got
Nest Boxes?
Monitoring helps the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology study climate change and nesting
birds
Anyone with one or more nest boxes can help
scientists learn more about bird families and how they
might be affected by climate change. Just register the
nest box (or boxes) with the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology's NestWatch program ( http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=b694l8cab.0.0.cvohqmcab.0&ts=S0403&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.registeryournestbox.org%2F&id=preview).
It doesn't cost anything but yields valuable information
needed to better understand breeding birds and how their
natural rhythms may be changing. If you don't have a
nest box, now is the time to set one up. Many species
that build nests in cavities have become very accustomed
to using wooden boxes set up by bird watchers to help
the birds more easily find a home.
"It's time to lose the winter blues and focus
on spring renewal," says project leader Tina Phillips.
"NestWatch is easy and fun for adults and children. It
helps all of us reconnect with nature which is good for
our own health and well-being. NestWatch is a great
activity to do on your own, in a classroom, or as a
homeschool project. And it helps the birds too."
Studies have shown that some birds are laying
their eggs sooner than in the past--as much as nine days
earlier in the case of Tree Swallows--and that could
spell trouble if the eggs hatch before a steady supply
of insects is available for feeding the young. NestWatch
participants visit nests once or twice per week and
report what they see during each visit, such as which
kinds of birds are using their nest boxes, when the
first eggs are laid, and the total number of eggs and
young. The project collects this information for all
species of nesting birds in North America. All
materials and instructions are available on the NestWatch web
site, including directions on how to monitor nest
boxes without disturbing the birds. Anyone interested in
putting up nest boxes for the first time will find
information on how to provide the best and safest boxes
for bluebirds, swallows, chickadees, and other
cavity-nesting birds online. NestWatch participants also
monitor the nests of backyard birds that don't use nest
boxes, such as phoebes, robins, and goldfinches.
NestWatch is a free nest-monitoring project
developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in
collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird
Center, and funded by the National Science
Foundation. Photo by Cornell Lab of
Ornithology.
|
 Texas Master Naturalists Hit One Million
Service Hours
The Texas Master
Naturalist program has now reached 1 million volunteer
service hours. This major milestone marks the 10th
anniversary of the program, which began in Texas but has
since given rise to a growing national movement.
The monetary worth of the 1 million hours of
service is valued at approximately $19.58 million.
The Texas Master Naturalist program began
in 1998 as a joint effort between Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department and Texas AgriLife (formerly Texas
Cooperative Extension Service) to provide education,
outreach, and service dedicated to natural resources
across the state. It provides opportunities for
concerned adult citizens of all ages to learn about the
natural environment and seek ways to give back to their
communities.
To gain the title of "Texas
Master Naturalist," participants must complete a minimum
of 40 hours of natural resource training, 40 hours of
service, and eight hours of advanced training offered
through the program within their first year.
Working on birds is a real part of the
program.
You can find more information on
the Texas Master Naturalist by clicking
here.
|
 Birds
Across the College Curriculum
By
David
Spector
In my "Biology of Birds" class at Central
Connecticut State University, I share my passion for
birds with the students. They learn about their own
bodies and their Thanksgiving turkey as they learn about
bird anatomy. The wide variety of bird behavior across
roughly 10,000 species of birds exposes students to the
diversity of life and to the ways in which we might see
ourselves in that diversity. Outside, in our
forays afoot across campus and adjacent areas, eyes,
ears, and minds will open to birds. The course touches
on more than biology, more than birds. Birds permeate
human cultures, as emphasized in this year's
International Migratory Bird Day theme of "Birds and
Culture." I regularly challenge students to connect
birds with their majors and career plans. Students have
done projects on bird names for aircraft, birds in
advertising, birds in ballet, bird conservation, and
many other aspects of bird-human interaction. Guest
speakers have included a bird photographer, a poet who
writes about birds, and a birdsong researcher with a
deep appreciation for the beauty of birdsong. I
don't work alone in this effort. For example, when I
co-taught with a colleague in our English Department,
students in my course were required to register in her
"Birds in Literature" course, and we actively
participated in each other's courses. Each of us
reinforced what the other was teaching and made links
between biology and literature explicit for the
students. This semester the class visited an art exhibit
on birds in the university's art gallery. The world is
not as neatly packaged as our courses are, and our
efforts at interdisciplinary teaching can help our
students to develop a more richly integrated view of
their world. For more on this approach click
here. David Spector teaches in the
Biology Department at Central Connecticut State
University and is the former president of the Hitchcock
Center for the Environment in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Photo by Jim
Williams | | |
For More
Information visit:
