Community Conservation

Taking Action: Join the Great Backyard Bird Count

Featured event: The Great Backyard Bird Count, a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon, is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts.

Get involved: The event will be held Feb. 13–16. Participants count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more of the days and report their sightings online. Visit this Web site for more information, or contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at (800) 843-2473 or Audubon at citizenscience@audubon.org or (215) 355-9588, Ext 16.

All ages and skill levels are invited to become citizen scientists during the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count. By contributing as little as 15 minutes, you’ll help researchers learn about bird population trends—critical information for making conservation decisions. Challenge yourself, your family, your business and/or your community group to improve your observation skills and enjoy nature through this effort to develop a comprehensive picture of what birds are up to in North America this winter.

A variety of resources are available online at www.birdcount.org, from help with bird identification to special materials for children and educators. Participants are also encouraged to submit photos for the Great Backyard Bird Count photo contest. These and video submissions may be featured on the GBBC Web site. This event is made possible, in part, by support from Wild Birds Unlimited.

Enviro-Science Scholarship

DNR offers scholarship for underrepresented students.

The Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Education Scholarship Program provides scholarships to minority and other underrepresented students pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in an environmental course of study. Areas include civil, chemical, mechanical, agricultural and environmental engineering; environmental areas such as geology, biology, wildlife management, planning, natural resource management or a closely related field; environmental chemistry; and environmental law enforcement.

Students applying for this scholarship should be Missouri residents, have a cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or if enrolled in college, have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, and be enrolled as a full-time student in a Missouri post-secondary institution. Application materials include three letters of recommendation, a summary of school and community activities, transcripts, and a one page essay. All materials must be postmarked by June 1. Scholarships will be awarded each semester subject to appropriated funds to students selected by the Minority Environmental Literacy Advisory Commission.

For more information, visit the links listed below or contact Dana Muessig at dana.muessig@dnr.mo.gov or (573) 751-8317.