Audubon Opens Campus Chapters Across the Nation

By Lorena Roberts on March 22, 2019

According to a recent press release, students across the country are getting the opportunity to join campus chapters of Audubon, a non-profit conservation organization.

“You know, to be honest, students have been here all along, but they haven’t had a seat at the table,” said Gustavo Figueroa, a campus outreach associate recently hired by Audubon. “We are here, and we are ready, and this new Audubon program recognizes that.”

By the fall of 2019, Audubon is on track to have over 50 campus chapters, with 150 to follow by the fall of 2020.

“The level of interest in our Campus Chapter program has been overwhelming—we can hardly keep up. We soft-launched six months ago and worked quickly to meet demand, but as soon as we cracked the door open a little bit, student leaders kicked it wide open. We’re on track to have 50 affiliated campus chapters by the 2019 fall term and 150 a year after,” said Audubon’s President and CEO, David Yarnold. “Students are assuming leadership roles in conversations about the environment and climate change, and they’ve told us we can either keep up or be left behind. They also think birds are pretty cool. You put all that energy together with a brand like Audubon, and the sky’s the limit.”

By creating campus chapters, Audubon is trying to engage students in learning and action. Additionally, they’re hoping to show students how attractive a career in conservation can be! With Audubon, student leaders will:

• build native plant gardens as part of Audubon’s Plants for Birds program and advocate for the adoption of native plant policies in public spaces;
• advocate for policies and practices that address climate change;
• advocate for bird-friendly building practices such as ways to avoid window collisions and implement “lights out” programs for migratory birds;
• help defend our nation’s most successful bird conservation law—the Migratory Bird Treaty Act;
• participate in community science and data collection like Climate Watch and the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Your university could be like Clemson University, making strides towards creating change. This week, Clemson’s College Republicans partnered with Audubon to meet with lawmakers in Columbia, lobbying for the Energy Freedom Act, which would expand access to solar energy throughout the state. A campus chapter of Audubon is just the beginning to making a true impact on Earth.

To start the campus chapter certification process, student or sponsors should apply online.

Learn more about Audubon on Campus. Visit audubon.org/campus-chapters.

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