Volunteer Habitat Advisors have been critical to the success of our Bring Conservation Home program since it was rolled out in 2012. In those eight years, dozens of advisors have assisted with the habitat consultations and detailed written advice we have delivered to over 1,200 landowners in the St. Louis region.
Each spring we recruit native plant enthusiasts to attend our Habitat Advisor Training, especially from the ranks of Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists and Wild Ones members. This year, 12 completed the training that ran five Monday nights for two hours each. It was our largest class since 2015, and we ask you help us congratulate them all: Susan Burk, Sheri Goldsmith, Pam Hass, Jennifer Holder, Chris Hull, Eileen Kinsella, Don Knobbe, Peggy Menke, Leslie Penning, Lisa Picker, Lisa Saffell and Chris Sawall. As apprentices they will continue their training by shadowing experienced Habitat Advisors or program staff until they are comfortable operating as part of a consultant team.
Their support will be essential as we strive to reach 200 new landowners this year, a 30% increase over our long-term average. That may not sound too bold, but we did shut down the program (and all other St. Louis Audubon in-person programming) in mid-March due to the coronavirus, just as we were ramping up for our busy spring season. We put nearly 50 landowners on hold and crossed our fingers we would be able to re-start at some point.
We are very happy to report that as of April 27th we have resumed the BCH program! We spent most of April investigating various apps and processes that would allow us to conduct the in-depth, personal consultation without the need to physically visit with landowners on-site. A video call tool was clearly called for, but all such platforms are not created equal. After testing several and exploring the use of the video call by the landowner to take us on a ‘tour’ of their landscape in real time, we have settled on a two-step process.
After receipt of a BCH request form, we call the landowner to review the program and process, answer any questions, and schedule the video call. Currently, we are using the Zoom platform, but we may switch to Google Meet for logistical reasons. The week before the video consult, we stop by the owner’s landscape to take pictures and notes. The owner knows we are coming to take pictures, but we do not engage with them in person. The pictures are uploaded to a Google folder which we then use during the video consult to conduct a virtual walk-through of their landscape. So far, we have received only enthusiastic ‘thumbs-ups’ from the landowners.
Like all of us, we have no idea what the future holds and just when it might be safe to engage up-close with strangers. Further, we expect many will be very hesitant to engage as they did before long after effective treatments or a vaccine are available. This new video consult approach means we do not have to wait for either the medicine or the total easing of anxiety. As noted, we have a number of consults awaiting scheduling, but should you be interested in our personalized advice on improving your landscape for the benefit of birds, butterflies or other wildlife, please complete the online request form and watch for our call. The birds, and their friends, will thank you!
