In late March, Dr. Isabelle-Anne Bisson and Nathalie Gendron presented in a live webinar series titled All Hands on Deck with the Sierra Club Canada Foundation – a monthly webinar meant to address the biodiversity and climate crisis which humanity faces. Dr. Bisson and Ms. Gendron\u2019s presentation, titled Protecting Avian Biodiversity: A Guide for Municipalities, discussed the plight of birds as well as the Migratory Birds Convention Act, an important Canadian law that protects migratory birds during their breeding season. The time of the webinar was \u00e0 propos because late March is marked by the return of the very first early migratory birds (such as red-winged blackbirds).<\/p>\n
The webinar began by declaring the unceded Indigenous lands and thanking the Indigenous representatives. It was one of the first presentations with live translation in both French and English.<\/p>\n
Dr. Bisson began the presentation in English with an overview of the situation for birds at the global and national levels, specifically discussing the sobering data presented by the World Wildlife Fund\u2019s (WWF) Living Planet Reports in 2017 and 2020 as well as other seminal papers on diminishing avian populations. These reports have raised public awareness on the importance of protecting avian species. Ms. Gendron continued in French for the rest of the webinar, presenting success stories on bird protection in the cities of Vancouver and Toronto. She also covered the historical background of the first studies done by TerraHumana Solutions in 2018 funded by Bird Protection Quebec, which resulted in the current collaborative project between TerraHumana Solutions and SCCF – developing a guidebook for municipalities on how to best protect and conserve their avian populations.<\/p>\n
Attendees (from Quebec and Ontario) seemed ready to act – most participants were citizens involved in grassroots movements. Questions included, \u201cAre there studies on the impact of municipalities or citizens’ activities on bird nesting habitats?\u201d, \u201cDo cat predation and building collisions have the same effect on bird populations in municipalities?\u201d, and \u201cAre TerraHumana Solutions working with the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP.org)?\u201d During the Q&A, the attendees expressed a need for this guidebook ASAP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to thank and acknowledge SCCF, who made this webinar successful\u201d saidDr. Isabelle Bisson.<\/p>\n
Want to learn more about this webinar: Protecting Avian Biodiversity: A Guide for Municipalities?<\/p>\n
Check it out in the link below.<\/p>\n