Every year we get together to honor and thank our volunteers at an annual picnic. And what a special day it was as we celebrated 50 years of Houston Audubon at the Edith L Moore Nature Sanctuary on February 16, 2019.
The photo shows Tim White, Board President, Doris Heard, and Juanita Perkins, Volunteer Coordinator. Doris Heard is the recipient of the Laura Singleton Exceptional Volunteer Award.
Read the story here.
In September of 1969, a group of birders banded together to create a local chapter of the Audubon society. Those forefathers and foremothers set in motion an organization that has achieved a lot in those fifty years.
Just six years after forming our chapter, Edith L Moore entrusted us with caring for her property that is now the Edith L Moore Nature Sanctuary. And it, of course, became the first sanctuary under our care and protection. And now, today, Houston Audubon is an accredited land trust that owns and manages 17 sanctuaries for birds and other wildlife. Our sanctuaries become more fertile and lush each year of result of ongoing, painstaking restoration and enhancement projects carried out by our conservation crew and volunteers.
Many bridges, boardwalks and trails that were ruined during Hurricane Harvey received much-needed attention this past year. Our hard working trail crew volunteers and staff sweated it out to construct 4 bridges and 2 observation decks at Edith L Moore and Sims Bayou Urban sanctuaries and almost 2,000 feet of boardwalk was replaced or built new in High Island.
Our mission is to advance the conservation of birds and positively impact their supporting environments. Last year, our Natives Nursery sold over 6,000 pollinator-friendly plants and donated another 1,600. Wonder what makes that happen? Those yellow-aproned volunteers with dirt under their fingernails. That’s who!
From our humble beginnings of providing nature discovery tours of this property, our education efforts have also exploded due to the commitment of volunteers and staff. In 2018, over 37,000 individuals were reached thru Houston Audubon’s nature-based education programs. And we couldn’t be more excited that this year the Houston Audubon Education and Raptor Center at Sims Bayou – has been launched – it is now open to the public and we are very excited to offer visitors this unique educational opportunity.
So, as we reflect on the fifty years of our organization, we recognize that much was accomplished due to the contribution of so many devoted volunteers. Thank you all for your efforts!
