The 2023 Florida Audubon Assembly was held October 26-28 in Tampa, and this year AAS President Kathleen Carr and Board Director Ben Rangel were in attendance. They were joined by FSU student and birder Lucas Pittman, who has been selected for this year’s Conservation Leadership Initiative (CLI) program, which connects undergraduate students with local chapter leadership to provide mentorship throughout an entire school year. Kathleen will be his primary mentor.

This was the first in-person Assembly since 2019 and our chapter representatives came away inspired by a weekend of networking, learning sessions, award ceremonies and, of course, birding.

*Kathleen Carr, CLI student Lucas Pittman, Ben Rangel*

*Kathleen Carr and Lucas Pittman at a CLI meeting*

The theme of this year’s assembly was “Conservation in a Changing Landscape”, and the events of the weekend mirrored this important topic. The Friday morning field trips highlighted opportunities for birding within Tampa’s urban landscape. Ben visited Lettuce Lake Conservation Park, which protects hardwood hammocks, pine flatwoods, and swamp forest along the Hillsborough River from the adjacent sprawl of hotels, gas stations and manufacturing facilities. The park has the typical picnic areas and playgrounds of a city park while also offering miles of trails through natural settings and a 3,500-foot boardwalk with an observation tower that provides scenic views of the river and excellent birding.

Kathleen and Lucas joined other CLI mentors and students at the Fred & Idah Schultz Nature Preserve. Managed by Hillsborough County, this 134-acre tract was formerly used to deposit dredge material and has been restored to mangrove forest, coastal and freshwater marsh, coastal dunes and uplands. Attendees on this trip saw 38 species including a variety of passerines along the walking trail, birds hanging out on the bay’s mangrove islands, and a pair of Northern Harriers hunting over the water.

*CLI hike at Fred & Idah Schultz Nature Preserve*

The birding field trips were followed by learning sessions:

Creating Habitat in Unconventional Ways to Maximize Connections for Conservation Lands featured how residential communities like Babcock Ranch and infrastructure such as wastewater facilities and solar fields—usually barriers to wildlife—can be designed to provide important habitat and connect conservation lands across the state.
Perspectives from the Next Generation of Conservationists attendees heard from a panel of Audubon Florida’s young leaders about what conservation work is resonating with our next-gen leaders, and what they envision for the changing landscape of conservation work in Florida.
From Birding to Conservation: Bringing New Birders into the Conservation Movement dove into strategies for turning birders’ passion for birds into a passion for conservation.

At the Friday evening banquet, attendees also heard from a panel of photographers who thoughtfully addressed the question of how wildlife photography can become conservation photography and how photos can be used to educate the viewer and inspire them to action.

Even the Saturday morning chapter awards ceremony was an opportunity for Assembly attendees to learn strategies for educating the public and bringing them to a conservation mindset. Award-winning chapters shared in detail how they achieved success with their projects, and Audubon staff shared information about the conservation wins they had achieved across the state.

Apalachee Audubon’s representatives are able to attend the Assembly thanks to donations from our membership. The strategies learned by attendees are invaluable to keeping our chapter connected to broader conservations goals across the state. They also inspire our chapter leadership to provide better conservation and educational opportunities in the counties we serve. If you’d like to donate to support attendance to next year’s Assembly or any of our other projects, please visit our Donation page.