Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

Member services: Communicated and informed members via our newsletter, website, and social media. Conducted outreach at environmental events. Undertook advocacy work, including public education and issue engagement, on statewide, regional, and local issues around threats to wildlife and their habitat

Wildlife Sanctuary: Visited 234 sites and certified an additional 53 properties totaling 337 acres, bringing the total acreage under the Wildlife Sanctuary Program to 8,646 acres spread across Northern VA since 2005. Co-sponsored a landscapers conference in Spanish to provide information about caring for native plants and plant communities to 78 participants. Wildlife Sanctuary Ambassadors gave 30 presentations and participated in dozens of fairs, environmental expos, garden club and homeowner association gatherings, and tabling events across the region. A grant from Fairfax Countys Tree Planting and Preservation Fund supported mini-grants of $3,000 to hire landscaping contractors to eliminate invasive vines that threaten trees in HOA common areas or on faith community properties, with a $1,500 match in funds or volunteer labor required. We received 28 applications and awarded 11 grants, three to faith communities and eight to HOAs.

Education: Offered 43 online adult programming and courses on birds, conservation, and natural history to 2,750 participants including NVBA members and the general public. Conducted in-person educational programs, including some with live birds. Sponsored local, regional, and international field trips to birdwatching hotspots. Provided leaders and guest speakers for school field trips, lectures, and home-schooling activities. Trained more than 50 environmental advocates.

Conservation: Coordinated with partner government and conservation organizations to conserve and increase high quality habitat through our Stretch Our Parks program. Provided key tools to reduce non-native invasive plants from critical protected areas on public lands. Continued to conduct wildlife surveys and publish results, providing critical data for long-term trend analysis. Conducted nature walks to educate and engage the community in our conversation efforts.