by Lori Turner, President

Happy November to you! Our CAS board members have been busy continuing our mission of nature education and habitat preservation. Lottie Bushmann and Lisa Schenker – our Education Co-chairs – visited several CPS elementary school classes throughout October talking about birds and nature. Some of the talks involved hands-on activities that got the students engaged and excited about what they were being taught.

Our Nature Area Committee – John Besser, Bill Mees and David Neely – have been keeping the trails clear and working on prairie management plans at both CANS and Wild Haven. They have been mindful of procedures that will maximize seed dispersal while minimizing the financial means necessary to have a successful prairie restoration.

We are still looking for a Field Trip Chairperson. This person doesn’t have to lead field trips but coordinate each field trip between the field trip leader, place to visit and where to meet. We typically need 2 field trips a month, September through May. If interested please reach out to me.

Dee Dokken has stepped down as our Conservation Chair but gave an extensive report that you can read in this month’s Chat. Though she can’t be on the board right now she will keep us posted on any conservation issues that could impact our membership and surrounding community.

October’s CAS meeting was presented by Lottie Bushmann and helped us understand more about eBird and how to harness the data from it. Whether you are planning a trip to another state and want to know their local hotspots or want to create your very own “spot” in your backyard, you can do it all with eBird. Lottie is very knowledgeable with this wonderful birding tool and I think everyone there took something from it – I know I did!

Our next board meeting is November 16th at the Universalist Unitarian Church at 7 pm. The program will be presented by Edge Wade who will have several different brands of binoculars and will discuss the pros and cons of each and how to decide which best fits your needs.

Here’s to a happy, healthy November and I will see you soon,