Mary and Bill to do charity birdathon, need your help

Bill and Mary
Originally uploaded by Bill Walker.

Dear friends and family,

It's us, your friendly neighborhood bird nuts, writing to ask you to sponsor us in our 2007 birding marathon. On Saturday April 14, we'll be counting up the number of species we can see in one 24 hour period in our own home county, competing against other teams. Think of it as a subject-appropriate walk-a-thon to benefit nature education.

We'll be going all out for the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS) and their local education and outreach programs. If we do our work right, we will see over 125 species of birds in Santa Clara county in one mad 14 hour rush, starting with owls at 5 am and wrapping up with sparrows at dusk.

And why do this? For the glory, of course. For the stories, sure. But primarily we do it to convince you that we are serious about the SCVAS and their nature education programs.

Did you happen to hear about a book called Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv? This book describes how unlikely it is that kids today have the personal connection with nature that many of us may remember from our own childhoods. For kids in urbanized Santa Clara county, an Audubon nature program may be their only experience of a live hawk or a walk in the woods.

SCVAS develops curriculum and trains volunteers to reach out to kids through classroom programs and field trips to the great outdoors. SCVAS even provides free school buses so that kids in low-income communities can participate in field trips.

When I think about how many future voters and policy makers could grow up with no experience of nature, I worry for our local birds and for the future of environmental policy. Bringing kids in contact with nature is a wonderful way to connect them with lives and experiences outside themselves which may serve us all well in the long run.

So please help, if you are able. We are seeking pledges either "per species" seen on Saturday or as a simple dollar amount. We hope you will join us in supporting environmental education and outreach here in the beautiful bay area.

-Bill and Mary