Tabling with Tucson Audubon this Spring

Constructing Lucy's Warbler nestboxes at the Pima County Fair

Tucson Audubon has had a great season of tabling at a variety of in-person events around Southeast Arizona recently. We are reaching more people than ever before, sharing a love for birds and inspiring people to get involved in protecting them. Of course, we couldn’t possibly have had this kind of impact without our dedicated volunteers—thank you! Here are some highlights.

Tucson Festival of Books
For the first time in two years the Tucson Festival of Books was back in-person at the University of Arizona, and Tucson Audubon joined hundreds of other vendors and organizations to greet the eager crowds! Over the course of the two days, two thousand visitors stopped by our booth to learn about their avian neighbors, how to make their gardens friendlier to wildlife, and how to get involved in and support Tucson Audubon. One lucky visitor even went home with a new pair of binoculars as part of a raffle. In addition to our main booth, Tucson Audubon also had a booth in the Science City tent where we had two interactive children's activities about the superpowers of birds: bird vision and vulture stomach acid. Thanks to those who visited us at the festival and a special thanks to the awesome crew of volunteers who made it possible. 

SAHBA Home & Garden Show
Tucson Audubon has attended SAHBA ever since we first introduced our "recipe cards'' in 2013. We can best improve and create urban habitat in Tucson and Southeast Arizona by getting these cards to birders and non-birders. It’s great to hear when people say "I took some of those cards last time you guys were here and now my yard is full of birds." So great! This year we spoke with over 600 people and had over 150 people enter our free raffle for a grand prize of binoculars and a second prize of a hummingbird feeder package. The show also generously allowed us to sell small items and we sold over $500 worth of bird ID guides, seed feeders, hummingbird feeders, native bee boxes, Lucy's Warbler nestboxes, and native seed plant mixes. We let people know about the Habitat at Home program and also rolled out new materials such as the Bird Safe Buildings kits with free decals to prevent window strikes. 

Verde Valley Birding Festival
Our Super Stomach Acid activity was a perfect fit for this year's Festival as their theme was...scavengers! 

Pima County Fair
This was Tucson Audubon’s first time tabling at the County Fair! The goal of this event was to interact with the general public, who may not necessarily be birders, to promote our Nestbox, Bird Safe Buildings (BSB), and Habitat at Home programs. We interacted with 364 people, gave out 40 BSB decal kits and built 70 Lucy's Warbler boxes with kids and adults at the fair.

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension's Sustainable Landscapes Expo
This sustainable landscaping and water usage event saw 52 people enter our specific raffle for a Lucy's Warbler nestbox and bee nesting block. We made and distributed the nestboxes for attendees to take home (for free) and promoted our Habitat at Home program. 

Agave Heritage Festival at Mission Gardens
This Festival explores the pollination, ecology, and overall impact agave has on regional cultures. This is a perfect tie-in for bat ecology and our new recipe card, “Creatures of the Night.” Our Habitat at Home-themed table promoted creating habitat for insect and nectar-feeding bats with an emphasis on keeping hummingbird feeders up at night for bats to eat from. 

We hope to see you at an upcoming event!