Orange Audubon Society

CITIZEN SCIENCE, CONSERVATION AND NATURE EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Orange Audubon Society, Inc. (OAS) continued to serve its membership base of 2,000 households and approximately 18,000 members of the public in fiscal year 2022-23 by offering educational classes, field trips, a birding and wildlife festival, a host of online guest speaker presentations that included the interactive weekly 'Bird Chats with OAS' series and a popular (61.9% open rate) 8-page, illustrated electronic newsletter announcing upcoming educational programs, providing conservation information and including interesting birding articles. 1) HIRING a HALF-TIME EDUCATOR in January 2022 has enabled OAS to expand its reach, especially to elementary school students and their teachers this year, engaging and enthralling approximately 4,800 children and 2,600 adults with self-developed, bird-oriented programs. At Title I schools with underserved populations, OAS' educator has started 4 afterschool birding clubs, the first with a FLEDJE (Future Leaders for Equity, Diversity, and Justice in the Environment) project in 2022. OAS' Young Birders Club (for youth ages 8-17) has grown in the past year due to increased monthly activities. To engage older students, OAS has participated in Audubon Florida's Conservation Leadership Initiative program (chapter leaders paired with college students as co-mentors) since the program's inception. With the Lake Apopka North Shore restoration area being a primary conservation focus of OAS, the educator is developing related environmental education programs including STEM curricula aligned with Sunshine State Standards suitable for elementary school children. While seeking to regain the higher in-person attendance rates enjoyed pre-COVID, OAS continued to offer and expand virtual programs that serve a broader audience, unconstrained by physical and geographical boundaries. Videos of all virtual programs are archived and available for viewing anytime, anywhere on OAS' YouTube channel that now has 765 subscribers. Other program descriptions and accomplishments during this fiscal year included organizing and conducting: 2) BIRD IDENTIFICATION CLASSES: Two BEGINNERS' BIRD WATCHING CLASSES teaching basic identification techniques and principles of ethical field practices; an INTERMEDIATE BIRD IDENTIFICATION CLASS enabling participants to build on and sharpen skills learned in beginners' classes; and two BIRDS OF PREY IDENTIFICATION CLASSES enabling participants to identify raptors using a holistic approach. 3) DRAGONFLY IDENTIFICATION WORKSHOP - Participants learned about Florida's native and non-native dragonfly species. 4) BIRD MIGRATION WALKS - First-time and experienced birders alike took leisurely morning walks during fall and spring migrations at Mead Botanical Garden, an urban park and migrant birding hot spot in Central Florida. 5) FIELD TRIPS - During the fiscal year OAS led 25 local and 6 away field trips that introduced participants to the diversity of Florida state parks, preserves and reserves, the Red Hills Region in Tallahassee and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge- natural history gems and birding hotspots. During OAS' Northwest Florida Panhandle Birding trip, participants visited Tall Timbers Research Station and learned about land stewardship and fire ecology that is necessary for a healthy ecosystem; St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and St. George Island and Wakulla Springs state parks where an American Flamingo (a castaway ushered there by Hurricane Michael in 2018), migrating songbirds grounded by an overnight weather system, and nesting Prothonotary Warblers, respectively, were seen. Overnight trips to Gainesville birding hotspots and Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg further allowed participants to learn about habitats and bird migration. 6) OAS' 35th ANNUAL CHERTOK FLORIDA NATIVE NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION - Participants gained enhanced knowledge and interest in Florida's native flora, fauna and natural areas by adhering to the primary eligibility criteria: subject matter must be native to Florida, images must not include human artifacts and photographers must practice North American Nature Photography Association's principles of ethical field practices, namely protecting the location, the subject matter and the photographers themselves while photographing their contest entries. 7) CREATING BIRD-FRIENDLY YARDS Programs - OAS' newsletter included articles related to planting for nature and the year's guest speaker lineup included two related presentations: 'Plants for Birds' by Jacqui Sulek and 'Making Your Backyard a Bird Haven' by Jason Peliwo. Archived YouTube videos of prior guest speaker presentations include 'Creating a Homegrown National Park' by Doug Tallamy and 'Lawns to Wildflowers' by Nash Turley demonstrating how individuals can create bird- and wildlife-friendly yards to supplement the shrinking natural habitats that wildlife needs to survive. Both videos continue to be viewed thousands of times. The OAS co-sponsored Backyard Biodiversity Day at Mead Botanical Garden offered interpretive wildlife identification hikes and workshops where attendees learned how to help birds and other wildlife in their own backyards. 8) GUEST SPEAKER Presentations - OAS sponsored 10 evening programs including a live raptor presentation, a nature photography awards show and 8 keynote speaker presentations on subjects including bird and other wildlife conservation, the status of certain endangered species, the benefits of habitat restoration and other topics on conservation and the environment. 9) WILDLIFE SURVEYS and CITIZEN SCIENCE Efforts - OAS volunteers conducted wildlife surveys, Christmas Bird Counts and the 4th of July Butterfly Count on city, county, state and federal public lands; helped with Audubon Florida's EagleWatch and Jay Watch programs; and contributed to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Great Backyard Bird Count, FeederWatch and NestWatch programs. Data collected on wildlife populations provides critical information that enables land managers and others to make better-informed decisions, thereby enhancing the ability of birds and other wildlife to survive and thrive. Starting in 2019 with monthly surveys at Wekiwa Springs State Park to document increase in birds dependent upon the park's prescribed burning program to imitate natural fires, these surveys have expanded to include quarterly surveys at Oakland Nature Preserve and Rock Springs Run State Reserve. OAS' surveys welcome participation by all and have brought about 100 volunteers into the OAS fold.

BIRDING, PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ECOTOURISM ON THE LAKE APOPKA NORTH SHORE: Orange Audubon Society, Inc. (OAS) promotes the economic values of birding ecotourism as a means of helping to conserve the Lake Apopka North Shore (North Shore) restoration area, a Globally Important Bird Area, in its natural state. In 2016 OAS began a birding event now known as the NORTH SHORE BIRDING FESTIVAL with two goals: showcasing the 20,000-acre Lake Apopka North Shore's rich birdlife and natural habitats, and demonstrating its economic value as a birding "ecotourism" destination as defined by the International Association of Ecotourism-"responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." OAS' December 2022 NSBF attracted over 300 participants from 18 states (including 60+ Florida cities) and Canada to Central Florida to enjoy the natural wonders of the Lake Apopka North Shore (LANS). NSBF participants boosted the local economy, learned the history of the North Shore's ecological decline that led to its acquisition by Florida taxpayers and current restoration efforts, and were introduced to its less well-known areas and increasingly popular Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, thereby helping to fulfill OAS' conservation and nature education mission. AMBASSADOR PROGRAM AT LAKE APOPKA WILDLIFE DRIVE: Since 1998-99 when Florida taxpayers acquired the 20,000-acre LANS, Orange Audubon Society has worked to secure public access for birding and other nature pursuits. A bird pesticide-kill in winter 1998-99 put hopes of quick public access on hold, but as pesticide residues were remediated, OAS collaborated with Orange County to raise public interest through a family-focused birding festival from 2013-17. The increased interest led Orange and Lake counties to develop a hiking/cycling trail along the main levee separating Lake Apopka from the former farm fields. In 2015 the St Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) that is responsible for restoration and management of LANS, switched to a reduced, 4-day work week that enabled an 11-mile Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive (LAWD) to be opened to the public on Fridays, weekends and some federal holidays. No local tourism dollars were spent to publicize LAWD. Understanding the importance of birding and open space to residents and visitors, OAS stepped up its efforts to showcase LAWD through a dedicated Facebook and other social media sites, launched the NORTH SHORE BIRDING FESTIVAL (NSBF) using the 2013-17 family-oriented festival as a springboard, and sponsored myriad other nature pursuits on the North Shore and LAWD. By 2023 visitation to LAWD had grown to about 150,000 per year. Demands from its increased popularity and limits of SJRWMD resources led to OAS taking charge of a proposed Lake Apopka Ambassador Program implemented when LAWD reopened to the public after a March 2020 COVID shutdown. Since the July 2020 rollout of the ambassador program, about 40 OAS volunteers have been greeting visitors to LAWD, an effort that greatly relieves the burden of SJRWMD, a governmental agency, and enhances the experience of visitors who represent an increasing ethnic diversity from the local community plus out-of-state and foreign visitors. SUMMARY: OAS' interrelated, mission-driven programs, the NORTH SHORE BIRDING FESTIVAL and the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive Ambassador Program, are enhancing the lives of its members and the general public, benefitting wildlife and the environment and demonstrating the positive financial and environmental benefits of ecotourism to the local community.