Image by Tim Tesar – Prothonotary Warbler
The Audubon Society of Kalamazoo (ASK) has been a part of the Kalamazoo community since 1945, when Kalamazoo area bird watchers decided to organize. For many years it was the only all-volunteer nature organization in the Kalamazoo area. Today we are an active club with members from all birding skill levels and age groups.
You are invited to join ASK. By becoming a member, you will be joining over 300 birders in Southwest Michigan who share an interest in bird watching, nature, and the environment. Your membership not only entitles you to participate in the activities listed below, but also makes those activities possible.
Please understand that while we are a local chapter of Michigan Audubon, membership in Michigan or National Audubon does not automatically make you a member of ASK. All three organizations share the common mission of bird conservation, but we are our own entity.
What we do:
- Offer informative monthly bird or nature programs on the 4th Monday of September-April, except in December.
- Lead over 20 birding field trips to local and regional natural areas (September-May).
- Publish an interesting and informative monthly e-newsletter (September-June).
- Organize a Christmas Bird Count.
- Host a potluck and bird walk at a specially chosen site for the Annual Meeting in May.
- Fund an Education Grants Program for Elementary and Middle Schools
- Give over 45 free classroom bird presentations annually and serve over 1,000 area students.
- Give a variety of community presentations on bird-related topics.
- Maintain a lending library of several hundred bird-related books, videos, and CDs.
- Maintain a local Rare Bird Alert network.
- Support the Kalamazoo Peregrine Falcon webcam and activities.
- Actively work on environmental issues, particularly on the local level.
- Ensure our organization is as diverse as the birds our organization reveres through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
- Provide deserving local, national, and international organizations with donations to help protect birds and their habitats.