Limpkin May 2003

How Do You Measure Time?

By Tom Atkinson, IRAS President

Ever since the Pilgrims set foot on the shore, we have been measuring time by what we have been able to accomplish. Our custom is to make resolutions, set goals, or draw up plans. When time passes we look back and ask ourselves, “How did we do?” It is that time for your new president to look back. I say new because even though I have been your president for a year now, every thing I do is for the first time. Even this job of looking back on the first year is new.

It has been quite a year and we have accomplished much. A lot of what we have accomplished is due to the dedication and devotion of your board members. Each of who gives unselfishly of their time and talents in pursuit of the Audubon mission.

Our purpose of existing “is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, and other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.” We work toward this “mission” with our every activity and all of our resources.

Special thanks have to go out to our Vice President Dee Fairbanks who has coordinated two of our four major educational outreach programs this year. Dee has supervised our meeting programs and assembled and edited the Limpkin. The Limpkin goes out to approximately 1200 families in Brevard County and we also send copies to governmental decision-makers and other environmental groups. This publication is our major investment in getting the message of habitat preservation in front of the eyes of people who can do something about it.

Secondly, our meeting programs are designed to be both entertaining and educational. The programs this year have been exceptional due to Dees’ efforts. We have enjoyed a wide range of topics including the restoration of the Ocklawaha River and the removal of the Rodman Dam presented by Dr. Joseph Siry, saving big cats presented by Thunderhawk Enterprises, artistic and sensitive water bird pictures by Brad Martin, a most informative presentation on the natural history and preservation of the Canaveral National Seashore by Dr. Deborah Green, a provocative presentation on native plants presented by Cammie Donaldson that has changed our views on clipped lawns forever, an update of the progress of the Brevard Zoo, and finally an erudite and enlightened presentation by Nancy Dube representing the Sea Turtle Preservation Society. I think you will have to agree with me that our programs were an ambitious undertaking, well carried out, and in close keeping with our mission.

Our third major education outreach program has been our field trip schedule. Open to all seasoned birders, beginners, and visitors from all over the world, our field trip program this year was a whirlwind of activity coordinated by our “blue bird” maternity ward supervisor, Jason Frederick. If anyone in Brevard County did not get to go on the field trip of their choice this year, it certainly wasn’t because of the shortage of scheduled trips. Jason literally covered the waterfront every day of every weekend all year long. He is to be congratulated on his enthusiasm and persistence and all members of our chapter owe him a debt of gratitude.

The fourth leg on our educational outreach table is our well-received donation of books to the elementary schools in Brevard County. Conceived and carried out by Carroll Holland, Julie Seberry, and Barbara Venuto. These members of the Education Committee donated copies of two magnificent books, Florida’s Fabulous Birds and Florida’s Fabulous Waterbirds by Winston Williams to all elementary schools in the county. Then to increase the probability that young students would look at the books, the Education Committee conducted a county wide poster contest in grades 1 though 4. The contest was judged and prizes given and a donation of $25 was presented to each teacher who had students enter. The $25 was a token of our appreciation and given to the teacher to help purchase materials for their classroom. One of the most pleasurable experiences I had this year was attending an elementary schools’ award assembly and presenting the prizes. Seeing these bright-eyed youngsters interested in birds makes all of our efforts worth while.

To raise funds for our educational program we held our annual benefit Spaghetti Dinner at Mister Beaujeans Restaurant on February 23. A whole list of volunteers worked on this event, coordinated by Carroll Holland, for which we are grateful. Special thanks go out to our long-time friend, Bob Brown, for making the facilities available and seeing to the donation to vast amounts of food.

I want to take this opportunity of extending recognition as well to all the hard workers who carried out our traditional Audubon bird counts this year. Few people realize how much work goes into bird counts and the dedication required by the persons who do this work. Special thanks go to Dan Click, Judy Dryja, Doug Stuckey, Nedra Sekera and Dick Novier. We would hardly be worthy of the name of an Audubon chapter if it weren’t for the efforts of this small, but dedicated group. Your board of directors was pleased to be able to pay the entry fees for the participants in the Cocoa Bird Count this year.

During this past year we have made a special effort to cooperate with other respected environmental groups in achieving our mutual goals. In September we worked at organizing a Scrub Jay Festival in cooperation with the Sierra Club and the Florida Native Plant Society. This big event was held at Fox Lake Park in Titusville and was designed to raise money to preserve some specific scrub jay habitat in Rockledge. We came very close to achieving our financial goals with the help of Laurilee Thompson, who donated a lot of food, which kept our costs down. I can’t speak quite as enthusiastically about achieving our scrub jay goals, however, because development still proceeds with little abatement in Brevard County.

From the beginning we have been a member of the Partnership for a Sustainable Future. The Partnership is a coalition of diverse groups devoted to establishing and maintaining an economically and environmentally sustainable future for Brevard County. The Partnership “advocates policy and programs that further sustainable growth and improve the quality of life for Brevard County residents and visitors.” For longer than I can remember Edward Slaney has been your board’s representative to the Partnership and for his long and distinguished service I extend my personal thanks. Ed has notified us that he intends to retire from this position next year, so if you have sufficient interest in what becomes of Brevard County in the future, maybe you would consider serving in this position. Believe me if you take this position, you can have an effect because the Partnership wields considerable influence.

If you attended a general meeting this year, you saw the new permanent name badges prepared by the membership committee. I have received several positive comments on how attractive and effective the new badges are. We can thank Polly Atkinson for carrying out this project. In addition to the name badges, Polly has presented each new member attending a meeting with a welcome package containing information about our area and a little gift box of candy. Also at our meetings we have enjoyed refreshments provided by various volunteers. This activity has been coordinated by Charlotte Leiberman who also deserves our thanks.

I want to express my appreciation to all of the board members and committee chairs for their support throughout the year. I especially want to thank Sarah Linney who has diligently recorded the happenings at our board meetings; Elizabeth Bishop who has deposited all of our funds, paid our bills and provided us with financial reports; Gail Jackson who made special efforts to publicize our activities; and Carroll Holland who has served as chapter advisor, coach, teacher, cheerleader, and mentor.

Your local Audubon group does not have to be bashful by measuring time by what we have been able to accomplish this year. Our membership is strong. Your officers work well together. We accomplished what we set out to do and we look to the future with confidence.

I hope each of you who have taken the time to read this will look at your own past year and ask, “How do I measure time?” Can you point to your accomplishments that have improved the environment? What will be your resolutions and goals for next year in this regard? If each of us does something, it will increase the chances that our children’s “time” will include some wildlife and hopefully some birds.