December 7, 2012

Dear Friends,

When we were children everybody up and down the Meridian Road used to marvel at what Betty and Ed Komarek were up to. These were the days of full church weddings and huge white wedding dresses, but Betty and Ed were married in a thunderstorm standing in their boots in a bed of ferns way back in the woods. We had seen grownups cry at funerals, but we had never seen anything like Betty, who could burst into tears over the beauty of a perfectly ordinary bird like a blue jay. And the most marvelous thing of all -- every year they would take their children OUT OF SCHOOL and drive to the southwest to study the origins of corn.

In those days Birdsong was a gathering place for biologists of all sorts -- lepidopterists, mammalogists, herpetologists, fire ecologists. Many of these scientists were kind, engaging, and welcoming people, always happy to give children a helping hand in their erratic progress towards a better understanding of the natural world. My brother kept on a bedroom shelf a graduated series of embryo possums in baby food jars of alcohol, and every child collected butterflies under the patient tutelage of Lucien Harris. We all made dish gardens of moss and turkey berries, and we were all little pyromaniacs enjoying the thrill of that whoosh of flame when two fires would meet each other in longleaf woods. But it was years before we understood the true nature of the study of those people at Birdsong -- they were all crazy for knowledge of the land and how to bring it to its proper fruitfulness.

How happy they would be to know about last summer's nesting wood storks in the Big Bay Swamp. The presence of wood storks in a wetland is a reliable indicator of the health of that ecosystem. What better fruit could Birdsong bear than that? Born of the dedication to conservation of those early Birdsong scientists, and equally born of the hard work of Birdsong Nature Center's volunteers and staff today. The wood storks have let us know that the value of Birdsong is immeasurable. All it needs is money, and as you must know by now, that is why I am writing to you.

Please keep Birdsong Nature Center in mind as you make your end-of-year contributions. We will appreciate whatever you can give, whether it is a part of your tax shelter, an example to your children of how to be responsible in selecting charities to support, or just because you cried for joy at that jay bird at your feeder.

Sincerely,

June Bailey White
Past President and Plant Sale Chair

 
P.S. Birdsong is a 501(c)3 corporation, so your gift is entirely tax-deductible. Please check with your bank or credit card company for a monthly deduction program, which can make a monthly gift automatic. Your business may have a matching gift program that can enable you to increase the value of your contribution.

Every gift matters; every gift is a vote of support. We deeply appreciate your participation.

If you would like to make a donation to Birdsong, please see our Donations page for information.

 
You may also enjoy reading others of June's beautifully written letters. Below is a list from which 2011-2014 appeal letters can be selected.

2015 Annual Appeal Letter, Birdsong's 30th year and the embryo forest.

2014 Annual Appeal Letter, a story of community and an iconic Shortleaf pine tree.

2013 Annual Appeal Letter and the story of the persevering Louis Philippe rose.

2012 Annual Appeal Letter, the story of early Birdsong scientists and the lesson of the wood storks.

2011 Annual Appeal Letter and the story of the three little cranberry muffins.