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Audubon Society of Rhode Island |
Welcome
The Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the state's first environmental organization, invites you to discover the wonders of nature. Annually, more than 17,000 members and supporters along with tens of thousands visitors enjoy our fifteen refuges statewide, award-winning Environmental Education Center, and enthralling special events and fascinating programs.
Our Audubon was founded in 1897 to halt the slaughter of birds used in the day's fashions. Today, our mission promotes environmental education, conservation and advocacy.
The Audubon connects you with nature all year through recreational and educational activities, emphasizing birds while encompassing all native wildlife and habitats.
The natural world is both sanctuary and classroom. Audubon encourages you to enjoy nature, learn from it, and protect it. Join us and experience the discoveries that nature offers you.
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International Coastal Cleanup |
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 Audubon Society of Rhode Island's International Coastal Cleanup (ICC)
addresses and raises awareness of a growing problem-plastic debris in
the ocean. At this annual event, volunteers pick up and document trash
that washes up along rivers and beaches at 80 locations around Rhode
Island. By recording each piece of litter, volunteers provide
information for actions that reduce trash before it becomes a danger to
the boating community or to wildlife. This year's event takes place
on Saturday, September 19, 9 a.m. to noon. Contact Eugenia Marks to
express your concern for the Ocean State and to find a convenient
cleanup.
"All beach trash is unsightly, and some can be dangerous to
wildlife,"
said Eugenia Marks, Policy Director at Audubon and State Coordinator
for International Coastal Cleanup. "However, plastic poses a special
problem-it takes a long time to go away." Lightweight, inexpensive,
durable plastic is steadily accumulating in the environment. Impacts of
derelict fishing line along shorelines, the theme of this year's
Coastal Cleanup, can be fatal.
Birds regularly become entangled in plastic netting, fishing line, or
six-pack holders. Birds use plastic for their nests, creating a hazard
for nestlings. In Rhode Island, young osprey have been found dead,
caught in fishing line and dangling from their nests.
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Like clockwork, as the days lengthen and the air warms with sweet renewal, the annual rites of spring commence. Songbirds return from migration. Mammals wake from their winter slumbers, and the thawed ponds and vernal pools begin scurrying with life. It is also then that Audubon's phones begin to ring - and ring - and ring. From territorial birds attacking their reflections in windows, to nest and den building in inconvenient places, or woodpeckers drumming on people's homes - spring breeding behavior in the natural world draws attention and concern.
However, nothing seems to get more notice than the appearance of offspring found in nature. Hundreds of calls from concerned individuals and businesses look for advice on how to handle situations involving spring babies. The correct answer, nine times out of ten, is to do nothing. Just watch from a distance and let nature ‘do its thing' without human intervention. In fact, interfering is often against the law (i.e. active nests and nesting birds are protected by law).
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