The National Audubon Society

The Louisiana Coastal Initiative 

Throughout the world, numerous environmental societies and organizations strive to bring biodiversity to both our local and international ecosystems. As humans, we tend to focus on the negative aspects of our environmental situations. We are sometimes oblivious to those who work towards a better earth for future generations. The National Audubon Society’s mission is "To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity". For more than a century, Audubon has been a role model in biologically diverse projects.

The official logo of the National Audubon Society

The National Audubon Society is one of the oldest, American, non-profit environmental organizations, being established in 1905. They use science, education, and policy knowledge to attack their various causes. From the protection of local habitats to researching climate change solutions, Audubon has used their many years of experience to help balance ecosystems throughout the globe. 

Audubon is a very substantial organization, delivering their conservation efforts from coast to coast. They have distributed their efforts in numerous ecosystems including Alaska, the Everglades and the Louisiana Coast. The Louisiana Coastal Initiative has been one of Audubon’s foremost conservations for over 75 years. In April 2010, the wetlands in the area were put under attack by the devastating BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster. Each year, more pollutants find their way into these waters, which strongly affects the biodiversity of our planet.

A large scale view of the Louisiana Coast

A photo of the April 2010 BP oil rig explosion

Louisiana's waterways (i.e. Mississippi River Delta) are needed for the survival of various ecosystems.  It supports over 100 million types of birds, 5 million of which come from Canada. These birds are all at major risk of oil consumption because they search for food in dangerous, oil polluted areas. These waterways are important to humans because of the many purposes they serve. 

Audubon is extremely committed to restoring the Louisiana Coast by working with  local chapters of the organization in Louisiana (Fundamental to Audubon’s "Important Bird Areas"). These habitats are critical to the survival of birds, other organisms, and ultimately humans.  The organization utilizes their volunteers to add efficiency to the BP oil cleanup. Audubon also works for the future, gathering data on the spill’s effects on birds to ensure a better restoration. Audubon has even become more public since the oil spill, with communications coordinator David Ringer speaking about the situation at the Springfield Conservation Nature Centre. He sent a message to the public a saying “Pretty quickly the interest in observing and enjoying turned to conserving and protection. You can’t just watch, you have to act.”

An Audubon volunteer feeding a pelican 

A Louisiana pelican suffering from the effects of the oil spill

The Louisiana Coast is one of the most recognized waterways in North America. The duty of Audubon lies in rebuilding a healthy Louisiana coast for our future ecosystems. The National Audubon Society has gone mainstream by partnering with consumer giant Pepsi, which has provided a $25 000 contribution to the organization to assist with oil spill efforts. Audubon is willing to fight for the restoration of these waterways so that they can thrive well into the future.

The National Audubon Society works toward a better future 

References

Handschuh, Judith. "Author Profile: Harper Lee". Teen Reads.com [underlined]. 2003. August 8, 2008 < http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-lee-harper.asp>

 -  "Louisiana Coastal Initiative". Audubon.org. 2010. September 28, 2010.

http://conservation.audubon.org/louisiana-coastal-initiative

- "Audubon's Mississippi River Initiative: creating a sustainable vision for an iconic waterway". Louisiana Coast. Audubon. org. 2010. September 25, 2010.

http://louisianacoast.audubon.org/birds-science-education/mississippi-river-initiative/audubons-mississippi-river-initiative

- Bliss, Karen. "Oil spill focus of Audubon speech". News-Leader.com. 2010. September 27, 2010.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100921/NEWS01/9210351/1007/NEWS01/Oil-spill-focus-of-Audubon-speech

-O' Hanlon, Larry. "Millions of migrating birds headed to oil: The marshes, shores and islands of Gulf coast are a bottleneck for birds heading south". MSNBC.com. 2010. September 28, 2010.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39068875/ns/technology_and_science-science/

-"The Brees Dream Foundation And Pepsi Beverages Company Announce A Grant Partnership Benefiting the Audubon Institute". New Orleans.com. 2010. September 25, 2010.

http://www.neworleans.com/news/local-news/474898.html

Comments:

1) http://vanezzabioblog.blogspot.com/

2)http://sbi3u1carminachu.blogspot.com/

Pictures:

Audubon Logo- http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/w5/audubon-logo-lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/bird-gardens-47022602&usg=__Zsh4jV9OzDhiBPekEZrTsKASjVk=&h=360&w=460&sz=25&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=r8ya39YVyBUqEM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=147&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daudubon%2Bsociety%2Blogo%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D657%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=115&vpy=66&dur=978&hovh=199&hovw=254&tx=168&ty=103&ei=nXmiTOCfB4LOswbbgKmLBQ&oei=nXmiTOCfB4LOswbbgKmLBQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Louisiana coast- http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://aquadoc.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/13/800pxatchafalaya_river_delta.jpg&imgrefurl=http://aquadoc.typepad.com/waterwired/2007/06/index.html&usg=__PM_dAH50beI2cOmkeTcncKynEXY=&h=534&w=800&sz=67&hl=en&start=28&zoom=1&tbnid=HhxNeXo_zy_ndM:&tbnh=148&tbnw=211&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlouisiana%2Bcoast%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D657%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C200&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=450&ei=EHqiTLGCF4P68AbGptzxBA&oei=DHqiTPm8NsyBswbMp-CKBQ&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:28&tx=166&ty=29&biw=1280&bih=657

Explosion- http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://breakingalerts.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Oil-Rig-Explosion.jpg&imgrefurl=http://breakingalerts.net/09/oil-rig-explosion.html&usg=__BS7Zc2A75-FGD1G5Jm8ccqNoCaE=&h=400&w=620&sz=38&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=ivtABljAuZ8qoM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=179&prev=/images%3Fq%3Doil%2Brig%2Bexplosion%2B2010%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D657%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=641&vpy=79&dur=314&hovh=180&hovw=280&tx=147&ty=115&ei=S3qiTM2VO4qFswbP9bWKBQ&oei=S3qiTM2VO4qFswbP9bWKBQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Audubon volunteer- http://louisianacoast.audubon.org/birds-science-education/mississippi-river-initiative/audubons-mississippi-river-initiative

pelican- http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ottawacitizen.com/3122123.bin%3Fsize%3D620x400&imgrefurl=http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Gallery%2Bspill%2Bcleanup/3112830/story.html&usg=__qWl89F4Ut_lhCqa1ZliNU0vZlZ8=&h=400&w=620&sz=38&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=zGcq3x8dW9SjcM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=163&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpelican%2Bin%2Blouisiana%2Boil%2Bspill%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D657%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=374&ei=7nqiTO2MAsSOswbl37GKBQ&oei=7nqiTO2MAsSOswbl37GKBQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:0&tx=81&ty=53

birds- http://conservation.audubon.org/louisiana-coastal-initiative