Become a Bird Town!
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania can help your community to become a Bird Town! Contact us to get started: birdtown@aswp.org or (412) 963-6100.
Bird Town Pennsylvania works in partnership with local municipalities and like-minded organizations to promote community-based conservation actions to create a healthier, more sustainable environment for birds, wildlife and people.
What is the Bird Town Pennsylvania Program?
Bird Town Pennsylvania is a state-wide, grassroots, municipal-level conservation program. Since 2011, it’s worked with over 50 municipalities to develop bird friendly communities, reinforce the important role people play in supporting bird populations, enhance habitat, reduce threats to birds, and create a positive impact on the environment. Our partners include Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and other local Audubon chapters, Pennsylvania Audubon Council, WeConservePA, and Bird City Network.
Bird Town Pennsylvania is a welcoming, engaging, and inclusive program.
Participation in Bird Town
● Increases awareness of birds as indicators of environmental health.
● Increases ecological literacy through education
● Encourages residents, schools, businesses, and municipalities to initiate their own projects
● Connects more people to nature through bird-related activities
● Encourages grassroots innovation, involvement and sharing across communities
● Increases the amount of viable bird habitat and use of native plants.
Becoming a Bird Town
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania will assist you as you move forward to become a Bird Town. There is a four-tiered Level of Certification (Green, Bronze, Silver, and Gold). Each higher level comes with increased commitment and implementation of core stewardship strategies which include Municipal Actions, School/Youth Related Actions, Community/Individual Engagement, Organizations/Collaborations/Partnerships, and Advocacy. To learn more about these certification levels, please reach out to us: birdtown@aswp.org
Outreach and Support for Bird Towns
Bird Town Pennsylvania connects with community residents and local schools by attending community events, creating pop-up gardens, supporting and running community science programs, providing native plant sales, educating about invasive plants, and leading bird walks. These activities help residents to embrace bird friendly practices such as planting natives, reducing bird window strikes, restoring habitat, and reducing pesticide use. Opportunities to connect with Bird Town and other members include:
- Website: birdtownpa.org introduces the program and inspires community members and municipal leaders to take action. We have specific resources via the Bird Town “Leader Only” Access Back Page where municipal leaders can find contact lists, webinar information, and workshop/meeting recordings and materials facilitate more networking.
- The Bird Town Flyer eNewsletter is published bi-monthly for Bird Town PA Leaders
- A private Facebook Page, the Bird Town Forum, is a location where leaders can share upcoming events and share about inspirational and informative material
- The quarterly Community eNewsletter, Bird Beat, shares seasonal tips to support and create healthier habitats for birds, wildlife, and people
- A workshop series for our Bird Town Leaders, partnerships, and collaborations allow for expanded community engagement, amplified work, a broader network, increased funding opportunities, more sources for education and expertise, and increased awareness of birds as indicators of environmental health.
Within the national conservation network, the Bird Town Program has served as a beacon for new, emerging programs that desire to engage communities at the municipal level. Today, there are at least ten programs across the country based on the success of Bird Town which are under the Bird City Network: https://birdcity.org/
A Brief History of the Program
- 2011: The Bird Town program begins
- 2011: Upper Moreland Township becomes Pennsylvania’s first Bird Town
- 2014: Over 20 Bird Towns designed in the state
- 2018: Nearly 30 Bird Towns active in seven counties
- 2021: Bird Town creates a long-term sustainability plan, institutes board structure and bylaws. A recertification and evaluation process is established to provide consistency and accountability across the program.
- 2024: Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania partners with Bird Town to increase Bird Town participation the western side of the state.
