Should Woodstock pursue the concept / title ?
By MARK SCHADENBERG
Did you know that municipalities like London, Barrie, Windsor and even Toronto have done their homework and are now qualified to call themselves a Bird Friendly Community. It's an evaluation and process created by the sanctioning group Nature Canada (Formerly called Canadian Audubon Society).
This past week, a Zoom meeting was established by the Woodstock Environmental Advisory Committee - WEAC with Autumn Jordan of Nature Canada as moderator.
It's early days -- no eggs have hatched yet -- but the meeting included several WEAC members, a Woodstock Field Naturalists Club member, an avid local nature photographer, Harold DeHaan who is the City's engineering department manager, and (2) City Councillors in Kate Leatherbarrow and myself.
The checklist is not insurmountable and Nature Canada has three different levels to attain or advance to.
Speaker Autumn Jordan knows the stats for bird populations of all breeds, and showed the committee some charts through a power point, including an increase in water fowl numbers in recent years, but a significant reduction in other birds ranging from aerial insectivores to grassland birds and everything else gliding on the horizons and perching on your backyard feeders. Cities require more trees, and an interesting point made by Jordan -- fewer feral cats.
To gain the moniker Bird Friendly City, the criteria range from bird safety and bird watching groups, but also to organize events to recognize the importance of birds, promoting pollinator gardens, and policies to protect urban birds.
Woodstock declared a proclamation last year during National Bird Migratory Day. Local bird watchers conduct species counts around Christmas annually.
After reaching the accreditation, Nature Canada will re-assess each community every 2 years. This WEAC sub-committee plans to continue its promotion of the idea.
Your thoughts?
www.woodstockfieldnaturalists.org
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