Central Westchester Audubon Society
	Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Purchase, Rye, Rye Brook, Port Chester and White Plains
	P.O. Box 359, White Plains, NY 10602 email: cwas@centralwestchesteraudubon.org

V.I.P. (Volunteers in the Parks)

A new Volunteers in the Parks Environmental Educators Program begins on October 3, 2002. This is a 20 session course in ecology and teaching techniques to prepare volunteers for guiding elementary school children on field trips in county nature preserves and making pre-trip classroom presentations in preparation for the walk. Classes are held on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30. The course is an exploration of the forest, field, pond, salt marsh and shoreline of Marshlands Conservancy in Rye and Cranberry Lake in North White Plains. Upon successful completion of the course, SUNY Purchase and Manhattanville College will award 4 college credits to volunteers registered with them.

To arrange an interview for the fall semester, please call Penny Berman, Coordinator of Volunteer Educators, at 914-864-7023.

-- Herb Ruskin

In 1995, the Audubon Society called for its membership to embrace a culture of conservation. The 20/20 vision is the implementation strategy which is focused on two major elements: the establishment of Audubon Centers and the focus on education. It is a lofty vision grounded in basic logic: "To restore the natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity."

Since the environment is shared by all of our lives and that of all the earth's inhabitants are are interconnected in countless ways, it is to our benefit to understand our environment in order to protect it.

What better place to begin that process that at an Audubon Center. Audubon Centers are places in their communities that include natural open space, permanent facilities and people. They are places where families can watch wildlife, explore and play outdoors together or on their own engage in conservation action, restore a wetland, learn how to landscape to attract birds and butterflies or address local conservation issues. The network of Audubon centers is growing and it is hoped that they will provide the understanding that will motivate us to care for the world around us.

The protection of natural resources is not just petitioning the government to preserve a pristine wilderness in Alaska but also to preserve as much of the natural world in our own communities as we can. Visit and enjoy an Audubon Center near you.

-- Peter da Silva

The nearest centers to us are the Audubon Center in Greenwich and a new center in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. For those of you who visit Florida in winter, Corkscrew Swamp is a wonderful center to explore.

Bring your unused and/or unwanted chemicals in their original or labeled containers. Close all bags and bottles tightly and place them in a sturdy box in the trunk of your car. Only residential chemicals are acceptable.

Pre-registration is required for 60 pounds or more of solid material or 25 gallons or more of liquids. There is no fee. No paint will be accepted.

For more inforomation and/or pre registration call Household Chemical Info-Line: (914)813-5425.

On the Web at www.Westchestergov.com

At the annual potluck supper on June 14th the Board of CWAS paid tribute to five of its members for long-standing service to the chapter. Two of the honorees, Lois Stierhout and Libby Wagner, were presented with the Great Egret Award in recognition of more than 20 years service working for CWAS and the Audubon Cause. Libby, a member of National Audubon since 1973, was a founding member of our chapter and served for many years as president and newsletter editor. She remains an active member of our board, an enthusiastic supporter of our activities and a respected advisor.

Lois, a member of National Audubon since 1974 and a board member since 1979 has served as both recording and corresponding secretary. She remains as corresponding secretary to this day. Presidents both past and present have always relied on Lois to help out wherever needed. Indeed, all of us on the board would be at a loss without her participation and optimistic encouragement.

Norma Canfield, Robert Canfield and Louise Jones were presented with Meritorious Service Awards for continued outstanding service to the chapter. A member of National Audubon since 1980, Norma has been recording secretary since she joined the board in 1987. As such, she has provided a valuable historical resource for our chapter. In addition, she has been instrumental in securing substantial funding for our scholarship program.

Robert Canfield, a member of National Audubon since 1980 and a member of our board since 1987 is the person largely responsible for designing and implementing our scholarship program to send local school children to the county environmental camps. He was sole member of the scholarship committee until 1999 and continues in an advisory capacity today.

Louise Jones has been in charge of public relations since 1992 and in 1998 took on the added job of conservation chair for Long Island Sound. She has been able to publicize our activities regularly in several newspapers. Louise also has a good understanding of the problems that beset Long Island Sound and has effectively communicated this information to board members at board meetings and to the membership at large through the newsletter.

We on the board are proud of the significant long-term contributions our honorees have made to the furtherance of the Audubon cause and owe a debt of gratitude to them for giving so unselfishly of their time and talents to insure the success of CWAS.

-- JSA

National Audubon requires that we amend our by-laws to include the following clause:
Chapter Policy: The relationship between Central Westchester Audubon Society and the National Audubon Society shall be governed by the Chapter Policy. This clause will replace Article VII (Commitments) and Article VIII (Discontinuance) which concern the relationship between National Audubon and CWAS. We will vote on this amendment to our by-laws at our October open meeting. If you have a question about the proposed change or wish to see a copy of the by-laws, please call Jeanne Alpert at 946-1780. A copy of the current and amended by-laws will be available for inspection at the meeting.

Have you seen the Asian Longhorned Beetle. This destructive insect is a serious threat to trees in New England. It has been found in NYC and Chicago. This insect kills trees. Maple trees are its favorite host. Almost 7,000 trees have been cut down in the infested areas to eradicate it. It is easy to recognize. It is a large (3/4 to 1 1/2 in. long), shiny black beetle with white spots and long black and white banded antennae. We must limit its spread. If you see this beetle, call 1-800-554-4501. For more information visit: www.uvm.edu/albeetle.

The following is an overview of our activities for the past year. As you know, education has always been our special focus. It is accomplished not only through legislative alerts, programs and field trips, but also by awarding scholarships to elementary students for summer ecology camps and underwriting subscriptions to Audubon Adventures. This year we awarded camp scholarships to 9 students. We also subscribed to Audubon Adventures for 24 classrooms, reaching over 500 students. This series of newsletters was created by National Audubon for third and fourth graders and coordinates with NY State science curriculum. We would like to have a wider audience for this program so if you wish to have your school included please call us.

We increased our evening programs this year from six to seven. As usual the live animal programs, "Raptors in the Rafters," and "Radical Reptiles," were the most popular, attended by more than 150 enthusiastic children and adults. Other programs included birding in the Galapagos and Florida, Gardening for the Environment, All About Wolves and the activities of the Westchester Land Trust.We try to cover a variety of subjects to address the diverse interests of our members of all ages.

This year the lack of a leader has made it difficult to plan our own field trips. We have kept up with our traditional destinations - the visit to Shepaug Dam to see eagles, the Kelisky Walk, and the popular Birdathon, and we have sponsored trips with other chapters and kept our members advised of county programs.

How do we pay for all of this? Mostly through your purchases of pecans, birdseed, boutique items and, most important, through your support of our annual Birdathon. This year you were most generous, donating over $2,000 in response to our telephone campaign. Thank you. Elsewhere in this newsletter is our year end financial report which will give you more details.

For the first time this year, to provide publicity for both Audubon's conservation issues and our chapter, we staffed an information table at the Eastern Mountain Sports store in Eastchester on a Saturday morning in the spring. Quite a few customers viewed the exhibit, asked questions and took some of the materials. The employees were most enthusiastic, and the manager expressed the hope that we would return next year.

Our web site has really taken off this year. We have had many hits and we urge you to "log on."

None of our activities would be possible without the efforts of a terrific group of board members. They not only cover their own assignments but are ready to help wherever needed.

This year we have made a change in the board structure by having three co-presidents, each covering a different area of our activities and chairing board and open meetings in rotation.

One of the best ways to support our chapter is to get personally involved. We invite you to join us on the board by picking an area that is of particular interest to you. We welcome all newcomers - just give one of the co-presidents a call and let us know what piques your interest..

I look forward to seeing you at our first open meeting on October 17th.

-- Gladys Goldmann

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