A news release on this year's MOU Savaloja Grants is going out to 347
newspaper outlets, 120 radio stations and 20 TV stations tomorrow. This is
something we've not tried before, so we're interested in assessing whether
the effort was worthwhile. You can help by letting me know if you see or
hear any news item about the Savaloja Grants. Please include the date,
media outlet, and if possible, web link for any items you come across.
We were able to support some wonderful projects this year. Following is an
item about them that will appear in the MOU Newsletter.
Steve Wilson
MOU Savaloja Committee Chair
Savaloja Grants, 2014
Terry Savaloja was a well-known, respected Minnesota birder and TS
Roberts Award recipient who died in 1992. The Savaloja Memorial Fund
was established to support projects that increase our understanding of
birds, promote preservation of birds and their natural habitats, or increase
public interest in birds. Every February the MOU Savaloja Committee sifts
through submitted proposals and forwards the most compelling to the MOU
Board for consideration. At their March 16, 2014 meeting the MOU Board
awarded grants, totaling a record $11,192, to five exceptional projects.
They are:
Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis, Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery
Committee (Jerry Bahls). Those who saw this group’s presentation at last
fall’s annual meeting will appreciate the wealth of new information coming
out of this study of one of Minnesota’s fastest-declining species. The
recovery committee was awarded $1200 to hire a technician to study Red-
headed Woodpeckers at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, one of
the remaining strongholds for this imperiled species..
Bena High School (Charles Grolla). This innovative project received $4383
for production of a booklet of common birds in northern Minnesota. The
booklet will use the Ojibwe bird names and will include stories and legends
gleaned from community elders that describe these birds and their cultural
associations.
Harambee Elementary School, Maplewood (Jenny Eckman). This school was
awarded $3815 to expand a promising pilot program into a year-long
program for second graders. The coursework will use birds as an
integrating theme between different disciplines normally considered in
isolation. The grant will help pay for the binoculars, bird ID and activity
guides, field trips and teacher training needed to expand the program. One
reason this project is so exciting is the potential for this approach to be
replicated in schools across the state.
Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter, Bloomington (Matthew Schaut,
President). MRVAC was awarded $594 to continue their goal of increasing
the birding capacity of local nature centers, this time through donation of
binoculars to the Starling Lake Nature Center. Through the magic of
matching, MOU’s donation of six binoculars was doubled by MRVAC, and
doubled again by Eagle Optics, for a total of 24 pairs of binoculars.
Willmar Public Schools (Randy Fredrickson). $1200 was awarded to
purchase geolocators. The data gleaned from attaching the geolocators to
wild Purple Martins will help researchers identify roost sites, migration
routes, over-wintering sites and collect longevity data for this declining
species.
Several of the above projects do double duty, helping birds while also
diversifying Minnesota’s birding community by recruiting or involving
minorities and people of color. These groups are currently
underrepresented among Minnesota birders, and are projected to grow
from 9% of Minnesota’s population in 2000 to 16% by 2030. Unless
minorities become more involved in birding, the proportion of the
population that cares about birds and their habitats will shrink.
Encouraging their participation in birding will reverse this trend, and help
keep MOU strong and better able to speak for all Minnesotans on bird-
related issues. This initiative was possible, in part, through a special $3000
donation received last year. Look for details in the next newsletter about a
challenge grant that will give you an opportunity to participate in
expanding the Savaloja grant program.
Savaloja Grants, 2015--Individuals or organizations who are undertaking
projects in Minnesota like these may submit grant applications to the MOU
for the 2015 grant cycle. Application information may be obtained by
emailing: [email protected]. The deadline for receipt of grant
applications is January 31, 2015.
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