The Assembly program will focus on interactive sessions featuring Audubon California staff and chapter members that build the capacity of leaders within the Audubon network.

To see the Assembly Program Booklet, please click here.

Friday afternoon

1-1:45pm -- Registration and Welcome

2 - 3:30pm -- Chapter Congress –  (90 minutes)
Chapter Leaders meet with the Audubon California staff to set mutual conservation priorities for 2019.

3:30 - 4pm -- Coffee Break

4 - 5:30pm -- Peer Networking - (90 minutes)
Chapter leaders will be able to network with other leaders who hold the same position on their boards and discuss common challenges and share solutions. We will divide the group by chapter position: President and VP; Conservation; Treasurer; Secretary; Membership & Outreach; Field Trips; Education; Newsletter/Communications; Volunteer; Citizen/Community Science; Programs & Hospitality.  

6:30 - 9pm -- Keynote and Dinner with Welcome remarks from Sarah Rose, Executive Director of Audubon California
            
The Bird Genoscape Project: genetic tools for understanding avian migration and climate change impacts

Rachael Bay, Assistant Professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California Davis

Rachael Bay is an assistant professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology at UC Davis. She received her PhD from Stanford University and worked at UCLA as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. Her research uses cutting-edge genetic tools to predict how animals will respond to climate change. In her work with the Bird Genoscape Project, she creates high-resolution maps of migratory routes and climate vulnerability in neotropical migrants, which can be used to inform conservation decisions for vulnerable populations. Her work on Yellow Warblers was recently published in Science and highlighted in news outlets including PBS, NPR, and Scientific American.

Saturday Program

7:30 - 9:00 am -- Breakfast

Note: concurrent sessions!

9:30 – 10:30am              Concurrent Session A

• Spreading the word: Communication strategies for chapters                                           
• ​​Conservation in So Cal: What tree mortality and fire mean for the rest of the state        

10:45 – 11:45am           Concurrent Session B

• Western Water: Emerging issues for birds                                                                            
• Fundraising Workshop: Planned Giving 101                                                                       

12:00pm – 1:00pm             Lunch                                                                                                       
1:15 – 2:15pm               Concurrent Session C

• Conservation for a New Generation                                                                                      
• Saving birds through policy action                                                                                         

​2:15 – 2:45pm                Coffee Break                                                                            

2:45 – 3:45pm                Concurrent Session D

• Climate & Energy and Birds in California                                                                               
• Coalition building: Advancing conservation priorities with local partners on the ground          

4:00pm – 4:30pm                Closing Remarks and Bird Fashion Contest                         
5:00pm – 7:00pm                Happy Hour Hosted by the Audubon California Board       

Sunday Field Trips

Bolsa Chica - hosted by Sea & Sage Audubon Society

Assemble at hotel - 6:30 AM
Assemble at site - 7:15 AM
Group size limit: 20 people

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is one of the premier birding locations for waterfowl and shorebirds in southern California. In summer, it serves as one of the largest tern nesting sites in the USA.  All year round it is habitat for the endangered Ridgway’s Rail.  Other residents include the non-migratory Belding’s race of Savannah Sparrow.  The mesa above Bolsa Chica hosts a small wintering population of Burrowing Owl, and the bay at Bolsa Chica hosts a wintering population of Brant.  We expect 75 or 80 species on a good day.

The field trip will begin at the small Harriett Wieder Regional Park atop the mesa at the south end of Bolsa Chica, approximately a 30-minute drive from the Courtyard Marriott.  Carpooling to and from the venue will be organized when registrants assemble on Sunday morning.  Restrooms are available on site.  After birding the park, we will caravan to the parking lot of the Ecological Reserve across Pacific Coast Highway from the entry to Bolsa Chica State Beach.  Finally, we will caravan to the mesa north of Bolsa Chica to find Burrowing Owls and other terrestrial species.  The trip will conclude no later than 11:00 AM. Participants are responsible for their own travel to and from field trip site, however, there will be a carpool sign up at the Audubon CA table during the assembly.

Los Cerritos Wetland - hosted by El Dorado Audubon Society

Assemble at hotel - 7:45 a.m.
Assemble at site - 8:30 a.m.
Group size limit: none

Los Cerritos Wetlands is a gem in the string of pearls along the coast, part of the Orange Coast Wetlands Important Bird Area, with approximately 136 recorded species.  It is located on the border of Los Angeles and Orange County not far from the mouth of the San Gabriel River near the Pacific Ocean.  In the winter months it is home to shorebirds, waterfowl, geese, foraging raptors and songbirds.  Year-round residents include herons, egrets and the non-migratory Belding's race of the Savannah Sparrow.  We expect 75 species on a good day.

The field trip will begin at 6433 E. Second Street, Long Beach, CA 90803.  It is approximately a 20-minute drive from the Courtyard by Marriott.  Restroom is available on the site.  The trip will conclude no later than 11:00 a.m.  Participants are responsible for their own travel to and from field trip site, however, there will be a carpool sign up at the Audubon CA table during the assembly.  

Toxic Tour of Los Angeles + Tour of International Bird Rescue

Assemble at Hotel at 7:30am
Depart 7:45am
Group size limit: 25

Join us for a tour with community members from Communities for a Better Environment as we learn about how multiple sources of toxics and pollution impact low income communities of color and the local environment. Tour includes visits to the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, oil refineries and other sources that are linked to asthma, birth defects and cancer.  

Visit the International Bird Rescue L.A. Wildlife Center in San Pedro to learn about the life saving work they do for aquatic birds and tour their wildlife rehabilitation clinic, aviary and state-of-the art wash room for oil spill response. In its 47-year history, International Bird Rescue has responded to over 220 oil spills around the world.

This is a chartered bus tour through the cities of Long Beach, Wilmington and San Pedro. The trip will conclude no later than 11:45am. Attendees will be dropped back at the hotel. Disclaimer: This is not a birding fieldtrip. Although highly unlikely, in the case of an oil spill occurring, tour to Bird Rescue will be cancelled.