I love seeing kids outside enjoying birds and birding. My wife Linda did a birding unit for her first graders every year, and at the end, they would be bused to our house for a birding adventure, which we all enjoyed very much.
So I was pleased recently to learn about the Maine Young Birders Club, founded and coordinated by Lena Moser and Nathan Hill. You can learn more about this club at www.maineyoungbirders.org. Here is some info from their website.
The Maine Young Birders Club serves to connect youth who are interested in the natural world to one another and also to the people and the wild places around the state that will inspire them to a life of enjoyment, appreciation, and conservation of Maine’s lands and waters, as well as the flora and fauna that depend on them.
Our mission is to provide a safe environment for youth in Maine to experience the wonder of birds and nature with other teens through birding-related events and activities and to promote engagement with our natural world by empowering young Maine residents to study and enjoy birds and birding.
OBJECTIVES
1. To foster an interest in birding among young people in Maine.
2. To offer a fun and safe community for young birders in Maine.
3. To provide positive role models and the safest possible environment for MYBC events.
4. To foster nature education and appreciation. (a) To build young people’s’ knowledge and skills through dynamic and interactive birding-based educational programs, activities, and events. (b) To further awareness of conservation issues affecting Maine birds.
5. To offer and maintain a website (www.maineyoungbirders.org) and a discussion group (via Facebook or other site) to facilitate communication among Maine young birders.
6. To publish a quarterly club newsletter.
7. To cultivate youth members’ interest in potential career options related to birds, the natural sciences, and conservation.
8. To build partnerships and foster relationships with other nature and birding groups in Maine and the U.S., thereby strengthening our collective web of support.
9. To develop and share best practices in birding experiences and education.
10. To have fun!