Audubon Society of Portland
$6,000

Funds are requested for program support, photography, and improving the online platform’s research and engagement functions of the Backyard BioBlitz. The Portland Audubon Backyard BioBlitz is a fun interactive project that engages urban residents in collecting wildlife data in their own yards and neighborhoods and which provides participants with weekly reports and information about local natural history, wildlife stewardship, reducing wildlife hazards and avoiding human-wildlife conflicts. While it is appropriate for all skill levels, it is specifically designed to engage people who at an entry level and just beginning to appreciate the wildlife that surrounds them. It follows Audubon’s theory of change which seeks to move people along a continuum from appreciation to understanding to action. Participants are asked to report each Tuesday on the wildlife that they observe on that day within a one block radius of their home. Participation can be ongoing or intermittent. Participants also have access to a facebook friends group page managed by Portland Audubon on which they can post pictures, comments and questions about what they have seen.

Participants receive a weekly report on what was observed by participants the prior week as well as information about opportunities to learn more about local wildlife, wildlife tips of the week, and opportunities to engage in local conservation efforts. This project was originally conceived and executed as a short-term response to a steep increase in wildlife inquiries and observations, as well as a demand for digital programing that we were seeing at the start of the Covid-19 crisis. Over the first ten weeks of this project, we have discovered that it is a powerful, interactive tool for engaging the community in wildlife watching and monitoring, as well as for getting information back out to the community about natural history, wildlife stewardship, wildlife hazards and reducing human-wildlife hazards. People engaging with the program include individuals ranging from experts to novices, families, school groups, media, wildlife professionals and elected politicians. A majority of the people participating are taking advantage of check-boxes on the reporting submission form to get further information about wildlife
issues and opportunities.

Portland Audubon has decided to convert this program from a short-term Covid-19 response to a long-term project and are seeking funding to create more robust scientific, education and outreach platforms suitable for a long-term project. The proponents would like to have this project upgraded by the late summer/ early fall as we see tremendous opportunity when school begins in the fall for families, school groups, etc. to integrate this program into their post-covid weekly structure. This program integrates and compliments several other Audubon urban wildlife programs including the Audubon Columbia Land Trust Backyard Habitat Certification Program (6,000+ yards enrolled in the Portland Metro Area), the Audubon Living with Wildlife Program (responding to 10,000-15,000 wildlife calls/year) as well as other new Audubon digital programing such as “Ask a Birder” and “What’s Happening this Week (in Bird Migration).”

The Committee recommends funding this project for $6,000.