American Goldfinch by Corrie Carswell
Letter from the chair
Thank you for flying with us in 2023 as we worked to build places where birds and people thrive. It was a fantastic and eventful year. With our eyes on the future of the organization, we rebranded to Birds Georgia after a rigorous and thought-provoking assessment process in which so many of you participated.
Overall, it was a great year for the organization as we built on our successful programs, added additional organizational capacity, and, most gratifying of all, engaged with one another while sharing the joy and wonder of birds with brand new audiences across Georgia. We spread our wings in a dynamic new office pace near Atlanta’s Westside BeltLine. We restored habitats from the mountains to the coast and in between. We leveraged a historic bequest gift from the Geltner Family to build capacity for the future, and, through a generous, milestone gift from the Morgens West Foundation, we were able to launch the Morgens Environmental Education Gateway, a platform that enables us to connect anyone across the state and around the world. We reached 17,128 people through our signature events, including Georgia Bird Fest and Georgia Grows Native for Birds month-long festivities. Birds Georgia ended 2023 with over 2,400 members, a top achievement for our flock. For more of Marc Goncher's remarks, download the PDF of our 2023 Annual Report. |
Marc Goncher
Chair, Board of Directors |
Our work in 2023
Conservation
In 2023, Birds Georgia advanced and expanded our Project Safe Flight monitoring efforts to reduce bird-building collisions across the state. We established new monitoring routes in Savannah and Brunswick and added to our robust network of coastal partners. Staff presented educational programs to both coastal Audubon chapters, regional DarkSky International chapters, building owners and managers, architects, and the general public. The Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island was retrofitted with Feather Friendly film to prevent bird collisions. In addition to being safer for migrating birds, these buildings will serve as an educational tool for the thousands of visitors that the site hosts annually.
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Education
The Morgens Environmental Education Gateway launched this fall, offering a variety of free content for people to learn about birds and conservation while also providing Birds Georgia program participants with enhanced learning experiences and opportunities. We hosted the online learning portion of our popular Master Birder program on the Gateway for 42 Master Birder participants in metro Atlanta and the Savannah area, making all of the course materials readily available on one platform.
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Community Engagement
In 2023, Birds Georgia made significant strides in fostering youth leadership and engagement within the community. Recognizing the pivotal role of young adults in shaping the future, we expanded our Conservation Career Series program to introduce the Teen Trip initiative. This initiative aimed to provide teenagers with opportunities to connect with nature through bird watching and forge friendships with peers who share similar interests. As a result, we successfully graduated two teenage bird enthusiasts as Teen Trip Leaders, empowering them to lead bird walks with their peers and guardians.
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FinancIals
The board and staff of Birds Georgia extend their appreciation to the following members, volunteers, community leaders, and friends who made contributions of $250 and above in 2023. For the full list of Birds Georgia's 2023 Supporters, see the 2023 Annual Report.