Pelican Island Audubon Society Inc

TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND NATURAL COMMUNITIES, AND THE LAND AND WATER ON WHICH THEY DEPEND IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY THROUGH EDUCATION, ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC AWARENESS.

AUDUBON ADVOCATES, OUR AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM AT AUDUBON HOUSE: ON A LIMITED BUDGET, WE PROVIDED AN EXCEPTIONAL AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM FOR 104 5TH GRADE STUDENTS FROM FOUR UNDERSERVED SOUTH COUNTY SCHOOLS. EACH STUDENT LEARNED, IN 13 TWO-AND-A-HALF HOUR CLASSES ABOUT STORM AND WASTEWATER POLLUTION, BIRDS, AND OTHER ECOLOGICAL TOPICS BY KAYAKING IN THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON, VISITING SEBASTIAN INLET STATE PARK, EGRET MARSH, AND THE INDIAN RIVER COUNTY WEST WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY, AND BY WALKING THE COUNTY'S VARIOUS SCRUB, HAMMOCK, AND WETLANDS HABITATS. WE RECEIVED GRANTS FROM THE JOHNS ISLAND COMMUNITY SERVICE LEAGUE AND INDIAN RIVER COUNTY CHILDRENS SERVICE ADVISORY COUNCIL TO OPERATE THE PROGRAM, AND WE RAISED DONATIONS FROM COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS.

PLANTING 100,000 TREES FOR LIFE: WE HAVE INSTALLED A GREENHOUSE, COLLECTED THOUSANDS OF ACORNS AND HAVE OVER 4,100 ACORNS THAT HAVE STARTED TO GERMINATE AND BEING PUT INTO ONE GALLON POTS. MANY ORGANIZATIONS AND IRC SCHOOLS HAVE SIGNED ON AS PARTNERS: UF/IFAS IRC EXTENSION OFFICE, OCEAN RESEARCH CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION, IRC SCHOOL DISTRICT, INDIAN RIVER LAND TRUST (IRLT), PETERSON'S FARMS, SEBASTIAN RIVER FARMS, CHERRY LAKE FARM, ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION, DIGG GARDENS, ESTUARINE, COASTAL & OCEAN SCIENCE, INC., FLORIDA RESEARCH CENTER, IRC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, CITY OF VERO BEACH GIS DIVISION (EACH TREE PLANTED WILL BE PLACED ON A GPS MAP.), CULTURAL COUNCIL OF IRC, INDIAN RIVER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOC., VERO BEACH ELEMENTARY, OSCEOLA MAGNET, INDIAN RIVER ACADEMY, GIFFORD MIDDLE,

PELIGRAM, OUR MONTHLY PIAS NEWSLETTER (BOTH PRINTED AND ELECTRONIC), FEATURES MONTHLY ARTICLES ON NATIVE PLANTS, EXPERIENCES IN NATURE, ADVOCACY AND ARTICLES ON PUBLIC POLICY, LOCAL INTEREST, AND THE FLORIDA BIRD PHOTO OF THE MONTH ESSAY WITH AN OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPH SUBMITTED BY THE PUBLIC. THIS BIRD PHOTO AND ESSAY IS ALSO PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, THE PRESS JOURNAL. ALL ARTICLES HAVE SIGNIFICANT EDUCATIONAL MESSAGES ABOUT BIRDS, NATURE AND CONSERVATION, AND THEY ADVERTISE OUR CHAPTER TO THE PUBLIC, ESPECIALLY TO PHOTOGRAPHERS.

PELIGRAM, OUR MONTHLY PIAS NEWSLETTER (BOTH PRINTED AND ELECTRONIC), FEATURES MONTHLY ARTICLES ON NATIVE PLANTS, EXPERIENCES IN NATURE, ADVOCACY AND ARTICLES ON PUBLIC POLICY, LOCAL INTEREST, AND THE FLORIDA BIRD PHOTO OF THE MONTH ESSAY WITH AN OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPH SUBMITTED BY THE PUBLIC. THIS BIRD PHOTO AND ESSAY IS ALSO PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, THE PRESS JOURNAL. ALL ARTICLES HAVE SIGNIFICANT EDUCATIONAL MESSAGES ABOUT BIRDS, NATURE AND CONSERVATION, AND THEY ADVERTISE OUR CHAPTER TO THE PUBLIC, ESPECIALLY TO PHOTOGRAPHERS. WE ARE PLANNING TO COMBINE THE PHOTO ESSAYS INTO A BOOK TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE CHAPTER.PIAS WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.PELICANISLANDAUDUBON.ORG PROVIDES EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION INFORMATION VIA VIDEOS TO OUR MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITY ON BASIC BIRDING, EBIRD, AND THE PELICAN ISLAND NWR, AS WELL AS INFORMATION ABOUT OUR INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS AND HOW PEOPLE CAN GET INVOLVED. FIELD TRIPS AND MONTHLY MEETINGS. PIAS SPONSORED 30 BIRDING FIELD TRIPS AND 16 MONTHLY EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS WITH DIFFERENT SPEAKERS IN TWO CITIES - SEBASTIAN AND VERO BEACH - TO EXPAND OUR EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS TO THE WHOLE COUNTY. ATTENDANCE VARIED FROM 40-110 FOR EACH MONTHLY MEETING, AND 15-40 PEOPLE JOINED EACH OF THE FIELD TRIPS. WE ALSO PARTICIPATE IN OUR LOCAL CHRISTMAS BIRD AND GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNTS. JAYWATCH. FOURTEEN VOLUNTEERS LED BY JOE CARROLL PARTICIPATED 129 HOURS AT FIVE AREAS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY. VERO LAKE ESTATES, A NEW SURVEY AREA, WAS ADDED WHERE TWO NEW FAMILY GROUPS WERE OBSERVED. UNFORTUNATELY, AT ALL AREAS, ONLY ONE JUVENILE FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY WAS COUNTED THIS YEAR. POPULATIONS ARE DECLINING. EAGLE WATCH. PIAS MEMBER LEADS THE PROGRAM TO MONITOR NESTING BALD EAGLES IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY WITH ADDITIONAL PIAS MEMBERS CONTRIBUTING TO THE EFFORT. PELICAN ISLAND WILDLIFE FESTIVAL. PIAS HAS PARTICIPATED FOR 22 YEARS WITH OTHERS GROUPS IN THIS ANNUAL EVENT TO RAISE FUNDS FOR OUR 1ST NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, WHICH IS CELEBRATING ITS 112TH BIRTHDAY. THE FLORIDA AUDUBON SOCIETY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING ITS VERY FIRST WARDEN. WE REACH ABOUT 8,000 ADULTS IN THIS EVENT. WE ALSO HAD BOOTHS AT OUR OTHER LOCAL FESTIVALS. . ANNUAL AWARDS. TO ENCOURAGE EXCELLENCE, PIAS GAVE DIFFERENT AWARDS TO TWENTY-FIVE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND OUR CHAPTER, IN THE AREAS OF OUTSTANDING CONSERVATIONIST, EDUCATOR, ENVIRONMENTAL CITIZEN, JOURNALIST, LANDSCAPER, AND GENEROSITY OF TIME & MONEY.PIAS NATURE LIBRARY. TWO PIAS BOARD MEMBERS WITH MEMBER SUPPORT HAVE TRANSFERED OUR 1,500-VOLUME LIBRARY TO THE AUDUBON HOUSE AND ARE CONTINUING TO COMPUTERIZE THE COLLECTION SO THE PUBLIC MAY ACCESS IT MORE EASILY ON A COMPUTER IN OUR NEW BUILDING.SPOONBILL WATCH: THROUGH OUR EFFORTS LAST YEAR, TWO ROOKERY ISLANDS AT THE STICK MARSH WERE DECLARED A CRITICAL WILDLIFE AREA BY THE FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION. THE DESIGNATION HAS HELPED TO PROVIDE A SAFE PLACE FOR SPOONBILLS AND MANY OTHER NESTING BIRD SPECIES WITHOUT DISTURBANCE. CITIZEN SCIENCE VOLUNTEERS TRACKED ROSEATE SPOONBILLS, LED BY DR. DAVID COX AND DR. BILL LOFTUS.OSPREY WATCH: BLUE CYPRESS LAKE IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY FORMS THE HEADWATERS OF THE ST. JOHN'S RIVER AND HAS THE HIGHEST NESTING DENSITY OF OSPREY IN THE WORLD. SUCCESSFUL SURVEYS OF OSPREYS AND OTHER BIRD NESTS WERE CONDUCTED ON BLUE CYPRESS LAKE AS PART OF THIS CITIZEN-SCIENCE PROJECT THAT WE CONDUCT EACH YEAR. WE ALSO PERFORMED GEO-MAPPING OF THE GPS DATA TO VISUALLY DISPLAY THE NESTS ON AN AERIAL PHOTO OF THE LAKE. THIS DATA WILL BE INVALUABLE AS WE CONTINUE ON-GOING YEARLY SURVEYS WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING. LOCAL NEWSPAPER COVERAGE INFORMED THE PUBLIC OF THIS AMAZING LOCAL RESOURCE.