Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) have the potential to engage people in the conservation and stewardship of special natural areas. Whether sites are remote and hard to access, or situated minutes from an urban core, they have the potential to attract curious nature-lovers and inspire people to action. Join for a two-part mini-series exploring how KBAs could foster conservation engagement among interested volunteers: reviewing the successes and lessons learned from Birds Canada’s Caretaker program, and looking forward to how that model could be expanded to other non-bird species.

In Part 1 of this mini-series, we explore Birds Canada’s Caretaker model of volunteer engagement around Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and how it could be adapted for KBAs. For many years, Birds Canada’s Caretaker program has engaged volunteers with an interest in birds and conservation to help monitor species, habitats, and threats within IBAs. As these IBAs transition into KBAs, this is a perfect time to reflect on the successes and lessons from the Caretaker program, and to think about how that model could be developed or transformed in the future. Join Ontario IBA Coordinator, Amanda Bichel, and IBA Caretakers from Ontario’s Prince Edward County South Shore IBA and BC’s Fraser River Estuary: Boundary Bay-Roberts Bank-Sturgeon Bank IBA as they present and discuss lessons learned from the Caretaker program, from national and local perspectives.

Check out the Delta nature brochure series that Anne shows in the talk here: https://dncb.wordpress.com/dns-brochures/.