Many of our Pennsylvania Bird Towns resumed community education, outreach and tabling events this spring after a near two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Earth Week, Nature Fests, Native Plant Sales, Arbor Day, and Spring Community Festivals included tabling outreach, displays, and information on our Bird Towns. Every event featured partnerships with conservation partners including: Audubon chapters, Environmental Advisory Councils (EAC), Nature Centers, Watershed Associations, Shade Tree Commissions (STC) and others. We received wonderful reports and photos from many of our Bird Towns and a brief profile of several follow here:
Abington: Abington Bird Town worked with the Abington EAC, STC, Briar Bush Nature Center, and Wyncote Audubon to host a daylong native plant sale and native tree giveaway at the Abington Public Library. Displays and information on the importance of native trees and plants were on hand. Abington Bird Town has also sponsored a series of monthly Bird Town Bird Walks in conjunction with Wyncote Audubon since January.
Allentown: The Allentown EAC and Bird Town had a tabling event at the Muhlenberg College and City of Allentown Earth Day events. We had about 75 people stop by the table that included children’s activities and materials developed by Muhlenberg College students about native and nonnative trees in the City of Allentown, tree equity, benefits of shade trees and a homeowner’s guide to planting trees in Allentown.
Earth Day in the Park! After a 2-year hiatus, this event took place Saturday, April 23 from noon to 4 p.m. in the Allentown Arts Park. The free event featured food, music, vendors, and family-friendly activities. More at: https://www.facebook.com/100064310184885/posts/354200956733574/?d=n
Bucks County Audubon Earth Day Event: Bird Town Pennsylvania tabled at the Bucks County Audubon Society Earth Day event where we had a table just for our program and held a Bird Challenge for youth ages 5-12 and sign ups for Bird habitat Recognition Program. It was a grand unveiling of our Bird Town Pennsylvania table display cover!
Lehigh Valley Audubon Society and PPL partnered on Saturday, April 16th to offer free native plants, seeds, and information. Bird information and stickers were a hit with the kids at this Allentown park. We positioned ourselves near a popular playground and interacted with approximately 100 people at our tables.
Chalfont Borough has held a number of bird walks led by Andrew Harrington at their local parks Krupp, Kelly and Twin Streams. Also, on April 23rd, a combined walk with Doylestown, New Britain and Chalfont Bird Towns was held with a great turnout. They’ve also had several clean-up events and an Earth Day Work Day and native tree planting.
Cheltenham: Sustainable Cheltenham and Bird Town worked with the Tookany Tacony Frankford Watershed, Penn Environment, Wyncote Audubon and other conservation partners for Trail Fest at Tookany Creek Park on Sunday, April 24th. Collins Nursery provided native plants for sale. There were also guided walks to prep for the City Nature Challenge. A series of monthly Bird Town Bird Walks are now scheduled though the summer months.
Newtown Borough: Friends Village in Newtown celebrated their new mission and values statements on April 30 with games and activities and a table focusing on native plants, bugs and birds. Maia Simon, a resident and member of Bird town Newtown, Bucks County, also spoke to the assembled crowd about the importance of native plants and how bugs are bird food and the level of the food chain that eats more plant material than any other class of critters. They also provided an informational booklet for each resident about native plants.
Lansdowne: On Saturday, April 23, Lansdowne Borough held a four-hour Earth Day festival prominently featuring bird-themed activities and the work of Bird Town PA. The event included many children activities including games, art, building projects and much more.
Upper Dublin: Upper Dublin Bird Town has scheduled a major native plant sale and event for Saturday, May 21st at Twining Valley Park. Part of their effort is to provide free plants to those property owners who suffered significant loss of trees as a result of the tornadoes that ravaged the Township. In addition, a series of monthly Bird Town Bird Walks are scheduled at different Township parks with support from Wyncote Audubon and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club.
Upper Moreland: The Upper Moreland Bird Town and EAC celebrated an Earth Day event at Mason’s Mill Park on Saturday, April 23rd. Support came from a number of partners including the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust and Wyncote Audubon.
