By Andrew Coughlan (Director, Québec Program) and Ellen Jakubowski (Communications Specialist), Bird Studies Canada
Canada Jay Photo: Missy Mandel
Bird Studies Canada is now accepting applications to the James L. Baillie Memorial Fund for the 2019 grant cycle. A portion of the money raised through our annual Great Canadian Birdathon is allocated to the Fund to provide grants to individuals or groups for projects that further bird research and conservation in Canada.
Since 1978, the Fund has provided grants totalling over $785,000 to more than 625 projects across the country. The independent Baillie Fund Trustees give priority to projects that engage the skills and enthusiasm of amateur naturalists and volunteers to help us understand, appreciate, and conserve Canadian birds in their natural environments. The Trustees also help allocate the Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society Award and the Ontario Bird Banding Association’s Wasserfall Award.
There are three granting programs, each with a different application and review process. Regular Grants applications are due December 15, 2018. Small Grants applications are due January 15, 2019. And Student Award applications, administered by the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, are due February 15, 2019.
The Fund is far-reaching. The information gathered and the outreach achieved facilitates conservation efforts, ensuring that, together, we can help guard Canada’s natural heritage for future generations. For more information about the Baillie Fund grant programs, past grants, and how to apply, visit our website or contact Baillie Fund Secretary Andrew Coughlan by email or at 1-866-518-0212.
Student Research Award Helps Careers Take Flight
Members of Bird Studies Canada’s staff and Board recently had the pleasure of gathering with past winners of the Baillie Fund Student Research Award at the International Ornithological Congress in Vancouver.
Among those in attendance was the first-ever recipient, Linda Wittingham, who received the award in 1990. Also present was the most recent recipient, Alex Sutton, who received funding this year for the Canada Jay project “Climate and demographic drivers of population growth of a boreal passerine.”
It was wonderful to hear about the exciting things these researchers have achieved in their professional lives. “This award was a tremendous boost to me at the start of my career in ornithology,” said Dan Mennill, the 2000 winner. Dr. Mennill is now a Professor of Ornithology and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research for the Faculty of Science at the University of Windsor.
Shown here are past Baillie Fund Student Research Award winners, from left to right: Karen Weibe (1991), Kyle Elliot (2010), Matt Reudink (2005), Dan Mennill (2000), Haley Kenyon (2016), Ryan Norris (2002), Alex Sutton (2018), and Linda Wittingham (1990).
Photo: Ellen Jakubowski
