While zooming in on South Florida's bird diversity, photographer Vanessa Miot connects her children with the natural world. (Photograph courtesy Florida Audubon)
Happy New Year Everyone! We have entered a new year and some people make resolutions to themselves this time of the year. I know there is always room for improvement, but personally, I think I would rather make a different kind of resolution.
How about we make some resolutions, as a chapter, to welcome new members from different backgrounds by reaching out to our Hispanic and Black communities and discover mutual interests in conservation and education? Whenever I ask people if they like birds, I always get a positive response, and I find it interesting that people of all ages and backgrounds enjoy seeing and learning about our local birds.
It might seem difficult to find a way to reach our minority communities, but let’s start thinking about how to make that connection. I think we can make a difference in 2022 with your ideas and commitment to start making inclusion one of our New Year’s Resolutions.
I think a New Year also is a good time to count your blessings and thank the many people in our lives that have made our last year successful. I want to thank our Board of Directors, who have kept us going during last year’s difficult pandemic issues. The teamwork they have shown over the last 12 months was excellent, and it continues today.
I am very proud to have served as your President and found that our team is the best I have ever worked with in my professional life. Thank you Ed, Kathy, Jan, Carol, JoAnn, Doris, John, Adella, Matthew, Diane, Ruth and Mary!
As of this writing, our Christmas Bird Count has successfully been completed and Ed is collecting the data from each of the zones in our County. Since we did not get together afterwards to share stories and highlights, we anxiously await a report from Ed about the number of species and any unusual birds that might have been located. Perhaps we can hear the results at our next general meeting on January 6th.
Please mark your calendar for this meeting because we may hear the results from Ed, and enjoy a wonderful program from our friend and super-birder, Sam Fried, who will share his pictures and experiences in his presentation, “Birds of the Colombian Andes.”
See you in January!
Ellen Lynch, President