[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 163 (Thursday, October 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2248-E2249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE AUDUBON OHIO URBAN CONSERVATION CREW SUMMER CAMP AT THE 
                ROCKEFELLER PARK GREENHOUSE IN CLEVELAND

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 25, 2007

  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
Audubon Ohio Urban Conservation Crew Summer Camp at the Rockefeller 
Park Greenhouse in Cleveland. The Ohio program of the National Audubon 
Society is working hard to ensure that children in the central city 
have the opportunity to connect with nature and, in doing so, improve 
both their educational achievement and their sense of community and 
self-esteem.
  During the recent August recess I had the good fortune to visit the 
Ohio program of the National Audubon Society which is also a program in 
my own district. The program, a free summer camp for neighborhood 
children ages 8 to 11, is known as the Urban Conservation Crew. Through 
this program, Audubon Ohio, in less than five weeks, has succeeded in 
developing a group of budding scientists who have mastered the fine 
points of bird identification and behavior, focusing on the birds and 
plants of their own neighborhood.
  Audubon Ohio chose as its location for the camp the Rockefeller Park 
Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is located in the heart of Cleveland's 
historic Glenville neighborhood. Owned and operated by the City of 
Cleveland, the Greenhouse's official function is to develop plants for 
indoor and outdoor use at other city properties. But the facility 
includes classroom space, extensive gardens (including a community 
garden), and a large meadow ringed with mature trees that makes an 
excellent habitat for birds.
  I grew up near the Greenhouse, yet during my visit I learned a lot of 
new things about it. Chief among these was the fact that the Greenhouse 
property immediately adjoins an ``Important Bird Area,'' or ``IBA.'' 
IBAs are part of an international network of areas that are important 
to the survival of migratory birds. This network was created by a 
European-based organization, Birdlife International. Audubon is the 
Birdlife partner responsible for designating and protecting IBAs in the 
United States.
  The Greenhouse sits next to one of 63 IBAs that Audubon has 
designated in Ohio. Specifically, it is next to the ``Doan Brook/Dike 
14 IBA,'' a key migratory corridor that connects the coast of Lake Erie 
with the upland Shaker Lakes on the western edge of the Appalachian 
Plateau. In practical terms this means that a lot of interesting birds 
pass through the area, with many species nesting in it. This in turn 
creates an opportunity for children in Glenville to explore an 
important natural area right near where they live.
  From what I saw of the camp, Audubon Ohio is taking full advantage of 
the location of the Greenhouse and the convergence of a central city 
neighborhood with an interesting natural area. During the first four 
weeks of the camp, children walked the Greenhouse grounds and the 
surrounding neighborhood with Audubon instructors who taught them how 
to identify birds both by sight and by sound. Audubon also took 
advantage of the plant life inside and outside of the Greenhouse to 
teach the children about what plants they could grow in their 
neighborhood and how the birds of the neighborhood would both help the 
plants survive by eating pests and, in turn, benefit themselves from 
the seeds and berries produced by the plants.
  During my visit the children showed off the knowledge that they had 
picked up in only a few weeks. They explained to me the concept of 
``field marks'' of birds and how I could use field marks to distinguish 
different species. They identified the various body parts of birds and 
explained how I could distinguish the sexes of different species, such 
as the Northern Cardinal. They told me what kind of food birds could 
find around the neighborhood and how people could help birds by 
supplying this food. And they explained how to protect birds from man-
made threats, such as plastic ``six pack'' holders that, they said, I 
needed to cut up so that birds would not get their necks stuck in them 
and choke.
  Beyond the knowledge and conservation values that the children were 
displaying, I was impressed by the passion with which the children were 
discussing the birds and plants of their neighborhood. I kept having to 
remind myself that these children were all less than 12 years old, some 
as young as eight, had no previous interest in birds, let alone 
experience in identifying them. These children were learning complex 
fundamental scientific techniques, including observation, distinction, 
grouping by similarities, understanding food chains and identifying 
threats and barriers. Introducing children to birds and plants was a 
great way of teaching them science by drawing on children's inherent 
desire to explore and understand the natural world around them.
  Cleveland is blessed with a number of outstanding institutions that 
have offered nature-based education to children over the years. These 
include our fabulous Metro Parks network as well as stand-alone 
institutions such as The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, the Lake Erie 
Nature and Science Center and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park 
Education Center. These institutions have gone to great lengths to 
reach out to the central city by bringing children out to their 
suburban and exurban facilities. I appreciate all of the efforts they 
have made over the years, and I hope they continue.
  What distinguishes Audubon Ohio's Urban Conservation Crew is that it 
is being conducted right in the neighborhood where the children live. 
Given the enthusiasm I saw in the children during their visit, I am 
confident that they will continue to explore Rockefeller Park, looking 
for birds, plants and other animals, long after the camp is over.

  After my visit I learned that Cleveland is not the only location 
where Audubon has been offering programs like the Urban Conservation 
Crew to central city children. In Columbus, Audubon is developing the 
Grange Insurance Audubon Center, a nature-based education center slated 
to open in 2009 in a central city neighborhood just a mile south of 
downtown. Audubon already has similar facilities at Prospect Park in 
Brooklyn and in Debs Park in East Los Angeles. Another urban center, 
known as ``the Rio Salado Center,'' is under development in the heart 
of Phoenix.
  It is notable that Audubon Ohio produced the Urban Conservation Crew 
program almost

[[Page E2249]]

entirely with private funds. Support came from the Cleveland 
Foundation, the Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust, and the Shaker Lakes 
Garden Club. Audubon Ohio did, however, receive a small amount of 
federal money, specifically a $5,000 grant from the U.S.D.A. Natural 
Resources Conservation Service. It goes to show how a relatively small 
amount of federal dollars can be leveraged to produce great results.
  I commend Audubon, Ohio for helping to re-connect children with 
nature, particularly in the central city. Audubon and its Ohio program 
deserve high marks for their creativity and skill in doing so at the 
Rockefeller Park Greenhouse in Cleveland and elsewhere. They provide 
great hope for the future.

                          ____________________