2024 Year-end Appeal: President John Hannan on the Magic of Bedford Audubon

Dear Friends,

My experience with Bedford Audubon began in 1999. Through the years I’ve stayed connected while building my career in bird conservation, locally and abroad. I returned to the Board of Directors last fall and am deeply honored to have stepped back into the role of board president last June. One reason for my continued involvement is people like you who recognize that what we do locally has a broader impact.

Thank you for your loyal support of Bedford Audubon. Our organization is strong, but the local environmental challenges we face make your support essential.

Today, I write to you with renewed passion for our mission and a heartfelt request for you to join me in making a special year-end donation to Bedford Audubon. Your gift will directly impact our ability to impact the birds and wildlife we all love.

Just last week I was at our HawkWatch, a hemispheric raptor conservation effort we have participated in for over 44 years. As our Raptor Counter Rich Aracil pointed out two soaring Bald Eagles, a young girl focused on the birds, turned to her mother, and belted out, “this is our best day ever!”

Later in the day a local garden club toured our Habitat Garden. The average age was a bit older than the girl I met in the morning, but the spirit was the same. The variety of native plants in our garden produce bird and insect diversity that, even in late fall, is breathtaking to watch. Our Naturalist, Tait Johansson, kept the club members in awe as he identified every plant and explained the relationship of each with our native birds and insects, be it food, nesting material, or protective cover.

Leaving the garden club, I attended a meeting at Westchester Community College where I was asked to consult about a campus building which is causing bird collisions, one of the leading direct human causes of bird mortality. Recognizing our expertise, people and institutions reach out for solutions to problems like this. We undertake behind-the-scenes work like this every day, and the generous support from people like you make it possible.

This is the magic of Bedford Audubon, whether you are seven or seventy, a skilled gardener, birder, or architect, you turn to Bedford Audubon’s expert staff and volunteers to find the solutions to our community’s environmental problems.

As 2025 approaches, won’t you please help provide Bedford Audubon with the resources needed to expand that work? Demand for our education, science, and conservation programs is on the rise, and we must make Bedford Audubon programs available to even more people.

This year, over 2,500 people engaged in our diverse programs over the course of 284 days. With your support, in 2025 we will:

• Increase our walks and field trips by 40% and add destinations accessible via mass transit, as well as locations which are wheelchair and stroller-accessible, so that we may reach even more members of our community.
• Expand our 2024 habitat restoration in our 592 acres of sanctuaries to improve them for the 100+ species of birds using them.
• Grow our intern and volunteer programs to expand our conservation efforts. This is good for the birds and our students, providing those interested in conservation careers a solid foundation of practical field work.
• Work with private landowners to create a matrix of properties across our region that are toxin free and filled with native plants, as well as reduce bird collision caused by glass and other reflective materials on homes and buildings.
• Continue to provide the high quality free monthly lectures, workshops, and programs that make information accessible to anyone who wants to improve the environmental quality of their home, neighborhood, and local community.

Our interns, volunteers, and staff are all willing to work tirelessly to serve the communities of northern Westchester and eastern Putnam counties to do all this, but I need you for us to be truly successful. You are part of a groundswell of friends of Bedford Audubon who donate their time and money because you care deeply about your community and the environment.

Please renew your support for the incredible array of local projects Bedford Audubon provides –projects that exemplify the goals we all believe in – by donating today.

Bedford Audubon has always held a special place in my heart, and I’m committed to making it better than ever… together with you! Let’s take this moment to celebrate all that we have achieved, and all we can achieve in the future. I need you! Please be as generous as you can and donate today.

Thank you so much,

John Hannan
Board President
Bedford Audubon Society

P.S. Please give a gift today. You can also call us at 914-232-1999 to make your donation.