Programs
Over its 40-year history, the ABA has continued to develop a range of initiatives and events.
The ABA encourages birding among young people by offering birding camps, sponsoring youth teams in birding competitions, providing scholarships to birding camps, and by running an annual ABA Young Birder of the Year Contest.
The organization promulgates a Code of Birding Ethics, guiding birders to protect birds, the environment, and the rights of others.
In addition to offering ABA apparel, the organization has partnered with for-profit companies to sell such things as identification and birdfinding guides, binoculars, and articles related to conservation like shade-grown coffee.
ABA is a partner with Birder's Exchange, a program whereby donated optics, field guides, and other materials are distributed to conservationists and educators in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The ABA offers conferences and conventions, smaller-scale birding rallies, tours, and workshops (through the ABA Institute for Field Ornithology) at various hotspots throughout the Americas. These are geared towards studying and enjoying birds, making new friends, and becoming a better birder. The IFO workshops, established with a goal of promoting cooperation between professional and amateur ornithologists, comprise a blend of classroom instruction and field study; each event is limited to 25 or fewer participants. Some offerings focus on a specific family of birds, while others are organized thematically around topics like migration or breeding ecology.
Read more about this topic: American Birding Association
Famous quotes containing the word programs:
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“Although good early childhood programs can benefit all children, they are not a quick fix for all of society’s ills—from crime in the streets to adolescent pregnancy, from school failure to unemployment. We must emphasize that good quality early childhood programs can help change the social and educational outcomes for many children, but they are not a panacea; they cannot ameliorate the effects of all harmful social and psychological environments.”
—Barbara Bowman (20th century)
“[The Republicans] offer ... a detailed agenda for national renewal.... [On] reducing illegitimacy ... the state will use ... funds for programs to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies, to promote adoption, to establish and operate children’s group homes, to establish and operate residential group homes for unwed mothers, or for any purpose the state deems appropriate. None of the taxpayer funds may be used for abortion services or abortion counseling.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)