2026 Audubon in Action projects:
San Diego City College Bird Alliance
(Audubon on Campus chapter, San Diego City College)
San Diego City College birders are gearing up for the San Diego City College Bird Alliance’s annual Environmental Justice Summit that activates students to get involved with green initiatives. Each year, students choose to tackle one issue that affects birds and one issue that affects their neighborhoods. This year’s grant funds will support events and local native plant gardens at their Vaux Swift Chimney, an Old Town State Park collaboration, and a WorldBeat Cultural Center collaboration. These projects highlight the chapter’s intersection of student-led advocacy, habitat restoration, bird conservation, and environmental justice. Stay up to date with San Diego City College Bird Alliance on Instagram here.
Golden Gate Bird Alliance
Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s Birding for Everyone Fellowship aims to develop and empower the next generation of BIPOC conservation leaders through a full year of free birding and ecology classes as well as conservation and advocacy opportunities offered in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences and California Audubon. The funds from this grant award will support the 2026 cohort of Fellows and grow the program, which is now in its fourth year. Read more about the Birding for Everyone Fellowship here.
Audubon Nature Conservation Club
(Audubon on Campus chapter, College of Marin)
Students with the College of Marin’s Audubon Nature Conservation Club will be using their awarded grant funds to support birds and other local fauna through a permanent seasonal wetland pond on campus. This project will bring together faculty and students from multiple departments on campus, Conservation Corps North Bay, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Coast Miwok Tribal Council, and other student-run clubs to participate throughout the restoration and public programming phases. Audubon Nature Conservation Club’s Lead, Sonya, shared, “The opportunity to apply for Audubon in Action grants is wonderful! It allows students to do meaningful conservation work on campus and gives us hands-on experience that will shape our future focus on conservation.” The Audubon Nature Conservation Club website is in progress and coming soon!
Eastern Sierra Bird Alliance
Eastern Sierra Bird Alliance’s grant award will support bird monitoring on the eastern shore of Mono Lake before and after critical habitat restoration and federal removal of a non-native horse herd. This monitoring will provide insight into the herd’s effect on vegetation regrowth and breeding birds like the Snowy Plover, Wilson’s Phalarope, Yellow Warbler, and Brewer’s Sparrow, as well as document the resilience of these bird species with habitat restoration. Paired with scientific monitoring will be mindful activism and outreach among stakeholders and the public to find an equitable balance prioritizing the well-being of people, horses, and birds. Learn more about Eastern Sierra Bird Alliance’s work on Facebook and on Instagram— and stay tuned for their new website coming soon!
Bird Club at UC San Diego
(Audubon on Campus chapter, UC San Diego)
The grant funding awarded to Bird Club at UC San Diego this year will go towards accessible birding opportunities and field research experience for students on and off-campus by overcoming financial barriers related to travel and supply costs. The three monitoring projects that will be supported are:
- Bird Safe: Students monitor migratory birds and their threats in addition to advocating for policies that protect birds
- La Jolla Cove: Students monitor large nesting colonies of birds like Brant’s Cormorants, Heerman’s Gulls, Elegant Terns, and Brown Pelicans
- UC Natural Reserves: Students conduct biodiversity surveys in under-monitored reserves.
Brandi Sanchez, Co-Founder of Bird Club at UC San Diego, shared: “The Audubon in Action grant means so much to our small but growing club! It gives us the ability to keep Bird Club at UC San Diego thriving while making academic opportunities more accessible to students. With this support, more members can develop their naturalist skills, experience field research, and actively contribute to conservation in our community.”
Stay up to date with Bird Club at UC San Diego on Instagram here.
Plumas Audubon Society
Plumas Audubon Society’s grant funding will support the Aechmophorus Grebe Monitoring & Advocacy project in 2026, building upon work that they’ve been leading since 2010. Lake Almanor and Eagle Lake are two of the four largest colonies of breeding Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark’s Grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii) in California, making them critical breeding areas for these declining species. In addition to monitoring work at these lakes and others, the funding will also support Plumas Audubon Society’s annual Grebe Festival to raise awareness of the birds and bring communities together for collaborative science. Read more about the Aechmophorus Grebe Monitoring & Conservation Project here.
Bruin Birding Club
(Audubon on Campus chapter, UCLA)
This year, Bruin Birding Club is aiming to increase the accessibility of their club’s own programming as well as the K-12 education programs run by their partner, the on-campus Mildred Mathias Botanical Garden. One part of the funding will remove cost barriers for UCLA students participating in club field trips by providing free transportation for their programming, which includes birding trips, volunteer days, and overnight field trips, making it more accessible for the UCLA community to recreate in and help steward green spaces in Southern California. The other piece of funding will go towards providing an estimated 20 pairs of binoculars for the botanical garden’s K-12 programs, which serve thousands of students per year. As students explore the garden with binoculars, they gain valuable experience with scientific tools, introducing many of them to birding for the first time. Read more about Bruin Birding Club’s events here.
San Diego Bird Alliance
In San Diego’s Mission Bay, San Diego Bird Alliance is integrating habitat restoration with 3rd and 4th grade conservation through the chapter’s Sharing our Shores program. The grant funds awarded for this program will support class field trips to snowy plover nesting sites, where students participate in field-based tidal wetland stewardship and learn about climate resiliency while integrating Kumeyaay knowledge and perspectives to highlight the ongoing indigenous connection to what is now Mission Bay. Using what they’ve learned, students then create conservation-themed signs to educate the public about native species, habitats, and best practices when recreating in the bay. Learn more about the Sharing our Shores program here.
2026 Collaborative projects:
Ventura Audubon Society
Ventura Audubon Society is partnering with the Organic Garden Club of Ventura County to create a community-supported native plant and food garden: the Dr. Christopher Dean Smith Memorial Garden. This collaborative effort weaves bird conservation into community resiliency and will provide a space for local events and educational activities. The native plant palette was selected using Audubon’s Native Plant Database and will support species like the California Thrasher, Bewick’s Wren, and Allen’s Hummingbird. Funds from this grant award will support the initial installation phase of a workspace for the garden. Learn how to get involved with Ventura Audubon Society here.
Pasadena Audubon Society
Pasadena Audubon Society’s Birding at Recess program is all about kids having fun, creating positive experiences, and engaging with birding during school hours as recreation rather than schoolwork for the students in Pasadena Unified School District. With such a heavy emphasis on fun and energetic birding, regular wear and tear takes its toll on the provided binoculars, so this awarded funding will go towards replacing the young birders’ necessary equipment. Read more about the Birding at Recess program in their November-December 2025 edition of their newsletter, the Wrentit.
Tulare Kings Audubon
After experiencing consistent growth in membership, Tulare Kings Audubon’s grant award funds will support an evaluation and upgrade of the chapter’s programming, outreach materials, and social media presence. The chapter’s refreshed engagement strategy will lead to programming that is more relevant and interesting for all members and better serves the fluctuating community. Read more about Tulare Kings Audubon’s upcoming events here.
