Audubon Pennsylvania has a great Bird Town program that helps local municipalities improve the habitat value of their town, promote environmental stewardship, and recognize their efforts. Among the criteria to become a Bird Town, a municipality must:
1) Complete a Bird Town Application
2) Agree to work with Audubon to immediately promote their Bird Town status by:
- Publishing the “Welcome to Bird Town” article in their next newsletter
- Creating a Bird Town webpage on the municipal website
- Posting at least five street signs (provided) and one banner
- Providing Audubon with local press contacts to promote Bird Town Backyard Workshops
- Making outreach materials available to the public
3) Assign a point person to act as liaison between the “town” and Audubon.
4) Promotion of a Bird Town Festival. This may be a regional festival, a stand-alone municipal festival, or part of an existing eco-fest or community day
So far there are 19 Bird Towns in 7 Pennsylvania counties. Another great idea from Audubon PA, a leader in urban bird conservation among the Audubon network in the U.S. Check it out!