Significant donation comes from desire to help protect birds

Black-throated Blue Warbler image – PEPtBO staff

An Ottawa couple living within walking distance of several birding hotspots started learning about warblers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their love of birds turned into full support for feathered friends.

Last year, Anne and Karl Snider, on the advice of their birding mentor, made their first visit to the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (PEPtBO) during spring migration, then returned for fall migration.

After another visit to PEPtBO this spring, the couple decided to provide a substantial funding gift of $100,000 to help advance the important work of protecting birds and their habitat through research, advocacy and education.

The intent of their gift was to help provide long-term stability for PEPtBO, contribute to one or more strategic priorities and improve the day-to-day work life of banding staff.

“While the specifics are still being ironed out, in terms of long term sustainability, we are committed to putting one third of the gift into an endowment and to building out the capacity of our volunteer force,” said Risa Zaleski, PEPtBO president.

“In terms of research, again we are still working out the finer details but we are very interested in developing a high-grade photo studio that will be used to create more detailed, comprehensive scientific photos of the birds we band. These photos would be shared with Cornell University for use by ornithologists across North America, enabling us to made a signification contribution to the ornithology field.”

The contribution comes at a pivotal time for PEPtBO as it approaches 30 years since inception, increasing challenges of climate change and habitat loss.

“Charitable organizations are facing tough times,” adds PEPtBO past-president Julie White. “Canada Helps reports a drop in overall donations for the 11th year running, with environmental groups like ours receiving just 1.5 per cent of the total. This generous donation from Anne and Karl Snider will have a transformative impact on PEPtBO’s efforts to achieve our ambitious bird conservation goals.”

They note PEPtBO is committed to continuing its work on migration, breeding patterns, and bird ecosystems at the Important Bird Area along the south shore of Prince Edward County.