Kim Adelson
About eight years ago, the South Sound Bird Alliance (then the Black Hills Audubon Society) established a partnership with the Timberland Regional Libraries to distribute Family Birding Backpacks. The TRL has branches in five counties, including “our three”: Mason, Lewis, and Thurston counties. We put together and gave them 52 Family Birding Backpacks, which circulate freely amongst all their branches. These backpacks contain: two pairs of binoculars; beginner and advanced field guides; a brochure containing information about local birding sites and proper binocular use; several different Great Washington Bird Trail maps; a complete list of area birds; a feedback form; and a coupon for a free year’s membership to our organization. We created these backpacks so that families and individuals could experience birdwatching without needing to make a monetary investment in doing so. We were hoping to add new members to our birding community, because people who care about birds care about protecting them and the environments that support them.
By all counts, the backpacks have been a whopping success! They have been checked out more than 1200 times, and there is often a waitlist to borrow them. Other organizations were inspired by them to create their own packs, and now our library system has a dedicated “Library of Things”. We have been told by teachers that they check them out for use with their students, and all the feedback we have received has been very positive.
Unfortunately, over the years many of the backpacks have been lost or damaged. (This is typical of items frequently checked out from libraries.) Because SSBA remains committed to increasing access to birding, we have set aside funds to donate an additional 10 backpacks to the library system. We are currently working on putting them together and they should be on the libraries’ shelves by the end of October.
We have updated these new packs so that they are labelled with our new name, contain information about using the Merlin app, and provide even more detailed information about local birding sites. They will still contain two pairs of binoculars and a coupon for a free year’s membership to SSBA.
Spread the news to friends and neighbors who might want to give birding a try!
Photo by Rachel Holland.
