With Fund II’s support, Audubon will be able to provide 56 fellowship experiences to young adults, predominantly people of color. From Baltimore to
Los Angeles, and from Chicago to Brownsville, TX, they are building career skills and networks and engaging thousands of community members in the beauty and healing power of nature. The strength of the program is impressing donors and drawing additional resources. We recently received a $30,000 investment from MUFG Union Bank to enrich Audubon high school fellowship experiences. We also have identified two major funders with strong interests in creating a more diverse conservation movement. We hope to engage them in support of an expanded TogetherGreen program in 2017.
Accomplishments Summary
- Completed 32 Fund II Fellowship experiences
- Currently engaging young people in 24 Fund II Fellowship experiences
- On track to exceed our goal of providing 45 Fellowship experiences
- Engaged more than 5,000 community members, dramatically exceeding our initial goal of 500 community members
- Posted eight tweets on Fund II Fellows through Audubon’s account, which has 109,000 Twitter followers; one tweet was retweeted by Craig Newmark to his 75,500 followers
- Placed four Facebook posts on Fund II Fellows through Audubon’s account, which has 990,000 fans; each post on average produced 500+ engagements (likes, comments, shares)
- Featured the accomplishments of Fund II Fellows at Audubon’s
Board of Trustees meeting in October 2016
Fellows Help Manage Chicago-Area Forests
This fall, a group of Fund II Fellows began working with Audubon staff and volunteers to help manage lands within the Forest Preserves of Cook County in the Chicago region. These Fellows are learning important skills for careers in conservation, including project and volunteer management.
Last year, nearly 70% of participants in the restoration program moved directly into jobs in the field. Program alumna Cassie Garcia said the experience “furthered my understanding of ecological restoration and my skills.”
Fellows Help South Texas Sanctuary Protect Native Habitat
Two Fellows, Christian Munoz and Luis Uribe, are working with a professor at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to better understand how to control invasive plants, which have fewer ecological benefits than natives. These two biology students will gain valuable field research
experience and share their results with staff and volunteers at Audubon’s Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary in Brownsville.
Christian is already planning a future in conservation. She says, “I want to encourage conservation of plants and animals by educating the community to protect the environment.”
HARMONY HAMILTON New Orleans
As a Fund II Fellow, I was able to refine my storytelling skills by collaborating with amazing people like director and editor Bob Sacha. In just one week I noticed a dramatic change in my shooting and editing skills.
