November 2017 Newsletter
Dear Members of Chairman’s Council,
Greetings from a frosty Sapsucker Woods!
The temperatures have turned chilly and we have already seen flurries this season, but the view of Sapsucker Woods is still spectacular with Canada Geese walking on the ice of the pond! If you have not seen the Lab – or if it’s been some time – I hope you will consider visiting us. We would be happy to arrange a personal tour.
Chairman’s Council Exclusive Website: I hope you have all had a chance to visit the Chairman’s Council website. The site was created and designed for Chairman’s Council members. Some features of the new website include a full list of member benefits, recent news from the Lab, photos and biographies of leaders at the Lab, photos from past council trips, and a full list of upcoming trips and events. We will update the site on a regular basis, and I hope you will share feedback so we can continue to improve the website. Please send your feedback to Melissa Walker (mrs73@cornell.edu or 607-254-2449 or you can contact her directly through the website).
Upcoming Trips and Events:
The complete list is on the Chairman’s Council website.
February 15, 2018 Year of the Bird, Washington, DC
February 28 – March 8 Sea Cloud (there are rooms available, please contact Greg Lopez at VENT, 512-328-5221, for more information)
March 12, 2018 Paul C. Mundinger Distinguished Lectureship featuring Rosemary Grant, Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY
June 21 – 23, 2018 Weekend at Sapsucker Woods, Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY
September 2018 Migration Celebration, Ithaca, NY
What’s New at the Lab?
Each month we feature news from around the Lab; here are a few highlights:
On Friday, November 10, we had 48 students participate in the biennial Parade of Students for the Lab’s Administrative Board. I was so impressed with the breadth and depth of the collective group, and I am thrilled to share the presentations with you.
Amanda Rodewald, Conservation Science Program Director, has recently been appointed an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow. She was honored for her distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology and conservation biology, particularly population and community ecology, and for science communication and advising. The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society. Her appointment was announced in this online news article.
The San Vito Bird Club in Costa Rica recently featured their work with BirdSleuth in a newsletter.
The Macaulay Library recently released two exciting updates–redesigned “media specimen” pages and expanded Advanced Search options–that will help users explore the nearly five million photos, audio recordings, and videos in the ML archive. This is a huge step forward for ML, as it represents the full integration of the traditional ML collection with the new eBird/ML upload collection, and allows for the seamless searching of the entire ML media archive. We’re eager to receive feedback on the new media specimen pages and the expanded search capability. To get started, visit the new media search page. If you are up for a challenge, please email Melissa (mrs73@cornell.edu) and she will send you some additional information to get you started.
Fitz and a group of Lab leaders recently travelled to Paracas, Peru to attend the biennial congress of Western Hemisphere shorebird scientists. At a lively evening event we announced a 6-year, multi-million-dollar fellowship program, “Coastal Solutions,” that we are launching in partnership with the Packard Foundation. I hope you will view the Spanish or English video introducing this project, created by the Lab’s Multimedia team:
Your Membership Impact
Each month, we are pleased to share how your annual membership gifts are making a real impact.
Over the past year, your support enabled BirdSleuth to engage more than 1,000,000 children in activities that build deeper connections with birds and nature. More than 10,000 educators throughout the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean received BirdSleuth curriculum resources. Many also participated in our workshops and webinars to learn how to engage youth in exploring the natural world, participating in citizen science, and conducting scientific investigations. By continually developing innovative resources that take advantage of developments in the Lab’s science and citizen science programs, BirdSleuth helps educators to develop a scientifically literate citizenry that is invested in the future of birds and the health of our environment. An education partner in the Caribbean noted, “As adults it’s easy to over-complicate things. Kids love being outside, they love interacting with the natural world and we often lose sight of that. We need to harness that enthusiasm and develop it in an active, fun, engaging way. By doing that you make a connection that lasts. That’s what BirdSleuth is all about.”
The feature is image is that of students following BirdSleuth lessons look for a Red-tailed Hawk at Valle de Oro. Photo by Charlene Lucero – Albuquerque, NM.
I hope you enjoy the recent issue of our Lab staff newsletter.
Your personal contacts at the Lab:
In the future, you will find a staff listing on the Chairman’s Council website.
Bramble Klipple, Senior Director of Development 607-254-1105 bck42@cornell.edu
Scott Sutcliffe, Director of Individual Giving 607-254-2424 sas10@cornell.edu
Melissa Walker, Program Coordinator 607-254-2449 mrs73@cornell.edu
Thank you for everything you do to support the Lab, birds, and conservation. We so appreciate your commitment to our mission.
We look forward to working with you in the coming year, and please let us know if you are planning a visit to the Lab!
Best regards,
Bramble Klipple