Thanks to our BEN Bulletin
sponsor:
The Bird Education Network (BEN) was
created following the February 2007 National Gathering, hosted
by the Council for Environmental Education (CEE). BEN is a CEE
initiative that seeks to connect and support a community of
bird education professionals.
Over 3,000 individuals representing
300 organizations receive communications and engage in
professional dialogue through the BEN-run Bird Education
Listserv.
A BEN Committee has been established to
provide advice and guidance for this important initiative, to
advance "bird conservation through
education." |
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 I can See for
Miles and Miles
by Dave Magpiong (with apologies to Pete
Townsend)
A newly found health benefit can be added to the
quickly growing mountain of evidence in support of
environmental education. According to new research,
outdoor activity has a positive impact on children's
eyesight. Bird educators may have seen this coming for
years.
A recent study conducted by the National Eye
Institute has determined that the incidence of myopia,
or near-sightedness, for individuals from adolescence
through middle age has increased more than 60 percent
since the 1970's.
The long suspected culprit of myopia has been
near work activities such as reading, video games, and
other short-range visual tasks.
Research by Dr. Don Mutti from Ohio State
University has seemingly disproven the
near-work/near-sightedness link. He found that children
who spent at least 14 hours a week outdoors had only a
20 percent likelihood of developing myopia. This is in
stark contrast to the 60 percent chance for children who
spend more time indoors.
Together, these two studies
provide yet more evidence of the need to get kids
outdoors. They also beg the question: Does bird watching
have a direct impact on people's vision? Anyone willing
to tackle that research
project?
For more information
on these two studies, check out the original NPR story
by clicking here.
Photo by Dave
Magpiong |
 Why A Spark Isn't
Enough
by Paul J.
Baicich
A spark can start a
forest fire. A spark can also go out. And most do go
out, incredibly quickly.
The "spark" of
discovering birds - and nature through birds - can also
start a life-long interest and dedication. Yet like the
extinguished spark in real life, the "spark" of
discovering birds can also go out, and go out
abruptly.
We bird educators
need to be mindful that an isolated birding experience,
despite perhaps being unique and memorable, is just a
single spark. A spark of curiosity must actually be
nurtured by additional "tinder," in our case by
repetitious and sequential activity, to ignite in real
success.
When a student visits a bird
rehabilitation center, views a banding demonstration,
goes on a field trip to a park or refuge, is engaged in
the Jr. Duck Stamp art competition, watches dancing
grouse, or goes behind the scenes at a nature museum,
those are all grand opportunities, all potential
sparks. But in most cases,
no one spark is enough.
It's also good to
remember that just as there is a potential sequence of
events for youngsters, there is a sequence for adults.
Having adults dropping into one birding/nature festival,
for example, is very nice, but waiting for the calendar
to come around for next year's local festival won't make
for a dedicated and consistent adult fan of birds and
bird habitat. There needs to be planned follow-up
activities (field trips, lectures, welcoming gatherings)
if the festival spark is expected to sustain anything
resembling ongoing interest.
As bird educators,
we need to discuss among ourselves the need for
sequential and repetitious experiences, and how to plan
for them among our varied programs.
This may require
cooperative ventures between potential multiple
partners. Bird educators at the nature center, the bird
observatory, the school, the bird club, the museum, the
refuge Friends group, the festival committee, and the
rehab center may all need to set up activities where
multiple sparks are helped along with consecutive
learning activities.
Remember: it usually
takes more than one spark to create a continual flame, a
flame that will grow and eventually cast some
light.
Photo
by Jim
Williams |
Flying WILD City
Partners Meeting
Flying WILD City Partners
from across the United States gathered in San Antonio,
Texas February 7th 0inh for the 2010 Flying WILD City
Partners' Meeting.
New and veteran City Partners learned, taught,
shared, networked, exchanged ideas, generated new
approaches and were inspired by the discussions and
meeting events.
The focus of this
year's meeting was on how to build a better
Flying WILD facilitator network and how
to nurture that network. Participants explored
localizing Flying WILD activities and connecting with
local bird species in your community. New approaches
to communicating and marketing the program to
facilitators and educators were outlined. Participants
also discussed new ways to integrate service learning,
community service, and citizen science activities into
their Flying WILD program. Partnering with universities
to reach pre-service educators and partnering with local
businesses for fundraising opportunities was also
highlighted.
Other highlights
included a wonderful trip to Mitchell Lake Audubon
Center, generously hosted by Michelle Eckman, Michell
Lake Audubon Center, and learning a new bird exercise
activity from Mary Ann Weber, Houston Audubon Society,
based on the Flying WILD "Avian Antics"
activity.
Thank you, to all
the Flying WILD City Partners who attended the 2010
meeting!
Photo
by Flisa Stevenson |
Conservation Community
Mourns Loss of Sam
Hamilton
The conservation
community lost one of its most cherished individuals on
Saturday, February 20, as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Director, Sam D. Hamilton, died unexpectedly while
skiing in Colorado following a Fish and Wildlife Service
meeting. Hamilton was 54 years old.
A 30 year veteran of
the agency, Hamilton, will be remembered by his many
great contributions to conservation. Hamilton was key in
one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects in the
country, the Florida Everglades, and oversaw the
restoration efforts on devastated wildlife habitat,
refuges and wetlands following hurricanes Katrina and
Rita.
Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior,
calls Hamilton "a friend, a visionary,
and a professional whose years of service and passionate
dedication to his work have left an indelible mark on
the lands and wildlife we cherish. His forward-thinking
approach to conservation - including his view that we
must think beyond boundaries at the landscape-scale-
will continue to shape our nation's stewardship for
years to come." on is
survived by his wife Becky, sons Sam Jr. and Clay and a
grandson. | | |
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