The Future Looks Bright

by Marlin Bussey
July 2008

With my tenure as President drawing to a close, I look back with enormous pride on how far we have come. Sitting around Jim and Kay Charter’s kitchen table in the spring of 2001, a small group of excited individuals exchanged visions and proposals to create an organization that would strive to help our wild birds. The driving force, of course, is our Executive Director Kay Charter, whose knowledge and passion for this mission is legendary.

The birth of Saving Birds Thru Habitat was quickly followed with a mission statement, bylaws, non-profit status, and a formal Board of Directors. By the fall of 2003, through the amazing support of an army of volunteers, the Habitat Discovery Center was built and then dedicated with a gala celebration. Developments at the site and adjacent Charter Sanctuary include a native plant garden, walkways, a pond, and a meadow with native prairie grasses.

Fast forward to today. Saving Birds has a full-blown operation of docent-led bird walks, regular newsletters, an expanding membership, a schedule of natural science events at the Center, certification of properties, and a highly acclaimed outreach presentation delivered across the country. Our message has reached thousands, and we are gratified with feedback from many who have embraced the need for suitable bird habitat and are now converting their yards to insect-bearing native plants.

We are also pleased with many delightful responses from school students who have visited the Center and were fascinated to learn first-hand about the habitat needs of wild birds.

The ongoing success of “Saving Birds” is the result of many people and organizations who have embraced our mission of “saving birds through habitat.” I would like to sincerely thank our generous membership for their continuing support and the organizations and foundations who provide much needed grants. The success of Saving Birds is also highly dependent on a dedicated corps of enthusiastic volunteers. My personal thanks to each of you.

I would also like to recognize my fellow Board members who have tackled numerous issues and successfully guided the organization along the way.

The future looks bright for Saving Birds Thru Habitat to grow and prosper. In our community, and across the nation, we are witnessing a sea change of awareness and appreciation for managing our habitat to support native birds and other wildlife. I am sure that Saving Birds will be in the forefront to support and amplify this change as it develops.

It has been a privilege and a pleasure to be a part of this wonderful organization.