Bohemian Waxwing © Nathaniel Sharp
We at VCE would like to help you out this holiday season by providing some creative, conservation-themed solutions to your gift-giving dilemmas. Here are several gift ideas that are sure to bring a smile to your favorite naturalist’s face while at the same time advance wildlife conservation!
Be sure to order early so they arrive in time for your gift-giving needs.
Mountain Birdwatch T-shirts and Hoodies
VCE’s Jason Hill commissioned artist Elsie Drummond to create this eye-catching T-shirt design to raise awareness about our long-running Mountain Birdwatch program. Your friends and family will look snazzy, support community science, and help spread the word for mountain bird conservation in these unique shirts. Check out our nice selection of styles, colors, and sizes at: https://www.bonfire.com/mountain-birdwatch-swag/
Vermont Atlas of Life T-shirts and Hoodies
The detailed artwork of Katama Rose Murray graces the back of our Vermont Atlas of Life T-shirts and hoodies. Katama created each drawing on the Vermont Atlas of Life “map of life” using an archival pen, and then transformed them digitally to make the entire composition into the shape of the state of Vermont. Support community science and help spread the word for biodiversity conservation with these unique, conversation-starting shirts. You’ll find a variety of styles, colors, and sizes at https://www.bonfire.com/vermont-atlas-of-life
Side note: We know that your gift recipients will want to take a swing at identifying all of the species on their new VAL attire. So to help them out, we’ve posted the answer key at http://val.vtecostudies.org/about/purchase-swag/
Natives & Their Pollinators Calendars by Daisy Hebb
This summer, local Vermont artist and geographer, Daisy Hebb consulted with VCE’S native bee expert, Spencer Hardy, to create her unique and beautiful “Natives & Their Pollinators Calendar” as a fundraiser for VCE. The calendar features twelve glorious original watercolor paintings representing twelve flowering plants and their pollinators, all native to North America. Specialist and generalist pollinators are represented, as are a mix of common and threatened species. Each species’ common and scientific name are included as well as each plant’s region and basic growing conditions.
Calendars cost $30 each (including shipping), with a portion of each purchase donated to support VCE’s wildlife conservation work. Perfect for the gift-gifting season, these calendars are sure to please your naturalist friends and family! Please check out the calendars and order directly from Daisy’s Etsy shop – and thank you!
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Habitat Stamp
Proceeds from the sale of Habitat Stamps help keep Vermont’s rivers clean, woods connected, and meadowlands open for all to enjoy. Visit https://vtfishandwildlife.com/vthabitatstamp to purchase a Habitat Stamp for all the outdoor-people on your gift-giving list. With a minimum donation of $15 per 4″x5″ Habitat Stamp sticker, these make great stocking stuffers and support wildlife and public land conservation!
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Federal Duck Stamp
Support bird habitat conservation across the nation by buying Federal Duck Stamps! A full 98% of the purchase price goes directly to help acquire and protect wetland habitat and purchase conservation easements for the National Wildlife Refuge System. This is among the most successful conservation tools ever created to protect habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Birds & Beans Coffee
The coffee lover on your list will thank you for this one: Birds & Beans Bird Friendly® Coffee! This Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC)-certified coffee represents a gold standard in ethical and sustainable coffee business. Bird Friendly® coffee is sourced from family farms in Latin America that provide sustainable, forest-like habitat for birds. Rather than being grown on farms that have been cleared of vegetation, Bird Friendly® coffees are planted under a canopy of trees. These trees provide the shelter, food, and habitat that migratory and local birds need to survive. Order online or find your local stockist on the Birds & Beans website!
From the Bookshelf
What It’s Like to Be a Bird – Sibley Guides
VCE Executive Director Chris Rimmer highly recommends this new guide to bird life by master author-illustrator and all-around avian expert David Allen Sibley. The book is organized as a series of short, crisp essays around 96 familiar species, each accompanied by the stunning artwork that has made Sibley famous. He more than accomplishes his stated goal of providing readers a deeper appreciation of the birds they see and identify. Basically a field guide to the biology and ecology of birds’ lives, this is a well-organized, accessible and thoroughly engaging book–one that can be read and enjoyed in stretches of 5 minutes or 2 hours.
