We will be presenting general information about the atlas at the following events:
- 17 March 2018: Connecticut Land Conservation Council annual conference (Wesleyan University, Middletown), 8:30-5:00, http://www.ctconservation.org/annualconference
- 24 March 2018: Connecticut Ornithological Association annual meeting (Chapman Hall, Middlesex Community College, 100 Training Hill Road, Middletown), 8:00-3:30, http://www.ctbirding.org/events/ Click to view slides from the talk we have been giving about the atlas.
Working with various project partners, we will be holding training workshops to introduce volunteers to the basics of atlas data collection. We are currently finalizing plans for these workshops, and do not yet have full details, but have listed the information that have below:
- 26 March 2018: Western Connecticut State University, Danbury.
7-8:30 pm. Session will be in the WCSU Science Building, room SB125, at the midtown campus. The university is located at 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810. (Organizer: Theodora Pinou) - 8 April 2018: Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, Connecticut Audubon Society, 90 Halls Road, Old Lyme. 10:00 am. www.ctaudubon.org/rtp-estuary-home (Organizer: Heather Kordula)
- 14 April 2018: Audubon Sharon, 325 Cornwall Bridge Rd, Sharon, CT.
Time 10:30 am. http://sharon.audubon.org/ (Organizer: Eileen Fielding) - 19 April 2018: Whitney Center, Cultural Arts Center, 200 Leeder Hill Dr., Hamden. 7 pm.
(Organizer: Craig Repasz) - 29 April 2018: Connecticut Audubon Society, 1361 Main Street, Glastonbury. 1 pm.
www.ctaudubon.org/glastonbury-home/ (Organizer: Lea Kessler Shaw) - 2 May 2018: Mansfield Public Library (Buchanan Auditorim) 54 Warrenville Rd, Mansfield Center. 7-9 pm. (Organizer: Steve Morytko)
- 19 May 2018: Connecticut Audubon Society, Center at Fairfield, 2325 Burr St., Fairfield. 10 am. www.ctaudubon.org/fairfield-home/ (Organizer: Rick Boucher)
- 3 June 2018: Audubon Center at Bent of the River, 185 E Flat Hill Rd, Southbury, CT.
Time TBD. http://bentoftheriver.audubon.org/ (Organizer: Ken Elkins)
We anticipate that other workshops will be added.
As the atlas project develops we anticipate organizing a number of “block-busting” events, in which a group of birders get together over a 2- or 3-day period to target a set of blocks that have received little coverage.
These events will be especially helpful in the later years of the project, when we know which areas lack coverage. There is, however, no reason why interested birders cannot start planning their own block-busting right away. Focusing on parts of the state where relatively few people go birding is especially helpful.
Block-busting events can be formally organized affairs, or they can just be something a small group of people decide to do on their own. One option is for a birding club to organize a block-busting event as part of their field trip schedule.
Another is for an individual to volunteer to organize an event in their local area and coordinate volunteers to cover a group of blocks. If you are interested in organizing an event like this, please let us know by sending an email to ctbirdatlasvol@gmail.com, and we can help identify blocks that we need help with and provide advice on other logistical issues.
As we hear about block-busting events, we will post information here and distribute it via the atlas mailing list.