2013 Birdathon
Birdathon 2013 is set for the weekend of April 27 and 28. This is our yearly fundraiser for the Hesthavn Nature Center. In past years we’ve raised thousands of dollars for projects and improvements for this wonderful local Audubon sanctuary.
How it works: Put together a team (or go solo). Ask people to sponsor you at so many cents a bird, or for a flat rate. Then go birding the weekend of April 27 and 28 and see how many species you can get! (Another weekend in that time frame is fine too, if you have a birding trip planned or a scheduling conflict.) Bird anywhere – your backyard, the coast, the Rio Grande… the sky’s the limit (literally). If you feel shy about asking people to sponsor you, get creative. For example, you can pledge to your own team, perhaps in honor of a nature-loving relative. Just drop me an email to let me know you are planning to participate. Sponsor forms and report forms will be on the ASC website under Birdathon. Results will be announced at the May meeting and in the summer Chat.
If you own a local business, you could generate some good publicity by having your business be a sponsor of the event. Your business could sponsor every team at a certain rate. This encourages more people to form a team and participate, knowing they already have their first sponsor. Beyond raising more funds for Hesthavn activities, this involves more people, who then feel they personally have a stake in Hesthavn’s success and, more broadly, in wildlife and nature conservation.
Ken Hilton, of Wild Birds Unlimited, will again be donating 25 cents per species for all teams, and Elsie Eltzroth has continued her generous tradition of also supporting all teams, with 10 cents per species.
AND Don Boucher and Lisa Millbank will again be sponsoring motorized teams at 10 cents per species and motorLESS teams at 50 cents per species! Also Joel Geier will again be offering 25 cents per species for motorless teams. So this means that motorless teams now have an effortless $1.10 per species! (though we hope you get more pledges on your own!) The criteria for going motorless are:
- No driving at all during the Birdathon. The motorless trip starts from and ends at your home.
- Any human-powered method is acceptable
- Any public transit
- Motorized wheelchairs and other mobility devices acceptable
Good Birding! And email me at Karan Fairchild, alderspr@peak.org, with any questions.
Karan Fairchild, Interim Birdathon Coordinator
Birders Report Form
Birders Sponsor Sheet
