St. Paul, Minn. (April 21, 2016) 鈥 约炮视频 Minnesota announced today that Hastings will be recognized as the state鈥檚 first at the on Saturday, April 23, at the Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center. Bird City is a unique pilot program to encourage urban bird conservation. The city is being saluted for their long-term commitment to creating bird habitat, reducing threats to birds, and engaging citizens in birding, bird conservation, and outdoor recreation.
鈥淏irds are an amazing connector,鈥 said Joanna Eckles, 约炮视频 Minnesota鈥檚 Bird-Friendly Communities Manager. 鈥淏ird City has the ability to bring people together with a shared purpose 鈥 to make the whole community stronger and healthier for birds and for people.鈥
Bird City Minnesota is coordinated by 约炮视频 Minnesota and modeled after successful programs in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Bird City Minnesota fosters civic engagement and locally led partnerships to create healthy communities for birds and people. Program requirements focus on habitat protection, improvement and creation, public engagement, and threat reduction. Communities that meet a specific number of best practices are eligible to become a Bird City. They can renew annually for as long as they continue their conservation work.
Over a year ago, Carpenter Nature Center Director Jennifer Vieth approached Hastings City Administrator Melanie Mesko Lee to gauge her interest in applying to be a Bird City. The response was enthusiastic and since then a team from , , and the City of Hastings has provided input on the development of the program and application materials. Similar teams in the cities of Saint Paul and Northfield are also lending their experience and expertise to the program as pilot cities and they hope to be recognized by Bird City Minnesota in the near future.
Hastings is being recognized for increasing awareness of birds and special birding resources through the creation of the and for their promotion of local . The City is also being recognized for encouraging the use of native plants to create bird habitat in place of manicured lawn.
The community has also been active in and public birding events including the annual Chimney Swift Sit, Christmas Bird Count, and on-going Bluebird Recovery Program and Youth Birding Competition. To address risks to birds, the city prioritized bird-safety in the design of the new Highway 61 Bridge which uses a programmable low lighting scheme. Hastings has made changes to pesticide use policies and has made efforts to reduce climate impacts by reducing energy use and carbon emissions.
Over the next six months, 约炮视频 Minnesota will work with the pilot cities and other partners to assess the results of the initial pilot program. By fall 2016, 约炮视频 Minnesota plans to take Bird City Minnesota applications from interested communities throughout the state.
To learn more about the Earth Day Birding Festival, go to for the schedule of events. For more information about Bird-friendly Communities, contact Joanna Eckles (jeckles@audubon.org) at 约炮视频 Minnesota.