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BAN’s 2007 Conference: An Invitation by BAN President, Sandy Seibert Bluebirds Across Nebraska’s 13th Annual Conference will be held April 14 at the Nebraska City High School. This is truly going to be “A Family Affair.” We have all come to expect a great time at BAN’s conferences. There are always outstanding speakers, wonderful food, great bluebird stories told, and a lot of laughs. This year will be no exception. Not only will you enjoy the conference but your children or grandchildren will have the time of their lives. For the first time, BAN has included activities for children in grades K-8. They will be escorted to the Arbor Day Farm (located next door to the high school) for both morning and afternoon activities (See The Kids of BAN). Introducing children to nature is one of the most important things we can do as nature lovers. This will be a great opportunity to do just that. At the Arbor Day Farm, the children will have the opportunity to explore nature and participate in many hands-on activities. This will be a day your children will hold fondly in their memories.
The casual dinner on Friday night has become a BAN pre-conference tradition where fellow bluebirders socialize, get acquainted with each other and swap bluebird stories. The dinner will be held at The Embers, at the confluence of Highways 75 and 2 in Nebraska City. As mentioned above, Vince Yannone will entertain us with some of his wildlife experiences and a live auction will be held with the conference speakers serving as auctioneers. Seating Friday night is limited, so be sure and get your conference registration in early. There will be several breaks throughout the conference which will give you the opportunity to visit with old and new friends, look over auction and raffle items, and buy raffle tickets. Another BAN conference tradition is all of the delicious goodies that our members bring for these breaks. If you would like to share a dozen or so cookies, cupcakes, kolaches, etc., your donation will be gladly accepted. The annual conference is BAN’s main fund raising event of the year. We ask your help in this matter by donating nature-related items for the auction and raffle. Items may be sent in advance to any BAN officer, brought to any BAN function, or brought the day of the conference. Please register as soon as possible. As you will notice on the registration form included in this newsletter, there is a discount for anyone registering before April 1. Fill it out, mail it in, and mark your calendar for April 14. |
Besides all of
the fun they will have at Arbor Day Farm, the kids will join us for lunch and to
hear both the morning and afternoon presentations of our keynote speaker, Vince
Yannone. Vince was a speaker at BAN’s 2000 conference held in Waverly and is one
of the most popular speakers we have ever had at a BAN conference. Every year we
have requests to “get Vince back.” People of all ages enjoy learning what he has
to share. Vince has been a biologist and educator in Montana for more than 30
years. Although retired from the Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks,
he remains a favorite speaker in Montana schools. Vince began teaching children
almost a quarter century ago when he developed Montana’s FWP’s youth education
program. Vince says, “This is education; this is conservation. We have to start
with kids and teach them how, and not what, to think.” His goal is to give
children the opportunity to bond with nature and think things through. He has
rehabilitated injured and orphaned animals for many years in his home and at the
Montana Wildlife Shelter which he founded. Vince will speak at the Friday
evening dinner in addition to his morning and afternoon sessions at the
conference.
We are also
very fortunate to have both Steve and Regina Garr, a husband and wife team who
are experts in the fields of purple martins and bluebirds. The Garrs are the
owners of Birds-I-View, a nature store in Jefferson City, Mo. Steve is a
lifetime member of the North American Bluebird Society for which he has served
as president, vice-president, and as a member of the board of directors. Steve
and Regina founded the Tennessee Bluebird Trails and have assisted in launching
the Missouri Bluebird Society. Steve has been a purple martin landlord since
1979 and has maintained colonies with up to 48 pairs of nesting martins. Steve
will share his expertise on purple martins while Regina will share her knowledge
of bluebirds.
I don’t think
there is anybody who doesn’t enjoy watching butterflies in their garden and who
wouldn’t like to have more of them around. Kathleen Zeimer will tell us how do
to just that. As the founder of Butterfliz of Iowa, she has presented talks
throughout the Mid-West. She will help us learn how to create butterfly habitats
in our yards and introduce us to some fun facts about butterflies.
The list of
speakers is rounded out by yours truly. I will present a talk about predators
and competitors of nesting bluebirds. I’ll discuss the many problems bluebirds
encounter and what we can do to help them successfully raise their nestlings.