We welcome another atmospheric Autumn by celebrating the sheer joy shared by the birders in our communities! In the Fall 2025 episode of Shenandoah Valley Ever Green we will visit sites up and down the Valley to learn about ways that people take care of wild birds – and ways that our feathered friends strengthen and beautify our communities. You can also scroll down to sample our Educational Corner for this episode.
We meet Ben Kehoe from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania who shares ideas about the benefits of creating bird-friendly towns.
The Every Body Birding Club met up in western Ohio in July and we hear the sense of warmth and welcome these new birders experience at their gathering. This audio comes to us from our friends from We Outside with support from The Center for Community Voices at WYSO Public Radio, a collaborative space for audio training, production, and storytelling.
At Maury River Middle School in Lexington, librarian Lisa Gay-Milliken has started a birding club and she will reveal the contents of the birding backpacks she has assembled to captivate the middle school club members.
Farmer Stefan Hess from Friendly Neighbor Gardens in Rockingham County tells about his ongoing relationship with purple martins.
Susan Mahood, third grade teacher at Central Elementary School in Lexington and Bonnie Bernstein, a member of both the Rockbridge Bird Club and the local chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists, tell about a bluebird trail in the schoolyard and how Susan uses it with her learners.
WMRA's Randi B. Hagi begins in Waynesboro at the Wildlife Center of Virginia and follows the story of eagle feathers from Virginia. These feathers are held in a national repository and eventually transported back to Virginia, and into the hands of members of the Monacan nation.
And arborist Jared Manzo at Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, Virginia, provides an overview of the various tree species that create a kaleidoscope of color in the canopy.
Reporters: Kimberly Aikens, Alex Baker, Lilly Johns, McLaren Reed, Zada Suddeth, Cecelia Thomas, Carolynn Unger, & Annie Kate Walsh Producers: Ryan Alessi, Tim Thomas
Sound: JMU Libraries Media Production Services
Episode Editing by Ryan Alessi
Purple martin audio from https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/purple-martin
All music for the program is performed by the group “Many Nights Ahead” with recording by Gene Bowlen at Cross Keys Studios.
Graphic Artist: Annie McGowan
Education Specialist: Lizah Pickens
WEB EXTRAS:
Remembering Jane Goodall
National Geographic brought Jane Goodall’s work into the public consciousness in the mid-1960s. They’ve published the following retrospective on her career: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/jane-goodall/
On Oct. 1, 2025, the National Geographic Society also released the following statement to announce Jane’s passing: https://news.nationalgeographic.org/remembering-dr-jane-goodall/
We at Shenandoah Valley Ever Green applaud her planet-forward work and appreciate the example she has set for conservationists everywhere: stay curious and take action to care for Nature that you love.
The Every Body Birding Club from We Outside!
Trae Elzy tells about the Every Body Birding Club and more outdoor activity from the We Outside series from WYSO. You can hear more from The Center for Community Voices at WYSO Public Radio. https://www.wyso.org/we-outside
What’s in My (Birding Bag)?
Maury River Middle School Librarian Lisa Gay-Milliken displays what’s in her birding backpack. You can hear the accompanying audio on the archived podcast of this episode.
Photos by Alex Baker.
The Journey of a Virginia Eagle Feather
WMRA reporter Randi B. Hagi first presented this story during Nov. 2024.
https://www.wmra.org/2024-11-04/the-journey-of-a-virginian-eagle-feather-from-wild-flight-to-spiritual-gift
You can find all of Randi’s stories collected here.
EDUCATION CORNER
Our Ever Green Education Specialist Lizah Pickens is pictured here sharing a poster about this radio show at the JMU Madison Celebration of Research and Scholarship, Friday October 3, 2025. Lizah offers the following ideas about using online educational resources to enhance conversations with learners about Virginia birds:
Get outside, go birding, or stay inside and learn about the abundance of birds in Virginia and the efforts to conserve them!
Birding Basics from Virginia DWR - The Shenandoah Valley and Virginia have many beautiful birds for our viewing pleasure. Join birding excursions, using resources like Birding Basics from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, which provides a comprehensive list of items they suggest you add to your birding bag.
Another resource is One Bird, Two Habitats. This pdf (from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1994) includes lessons in social science, science, foreign languages, physical development and health, mathematics, and English language arts, providing interconnected activities suitable for interdisciplinary team teaching. These activities are well-suited to promote conversation surrounding birds and emphasize connections between the activities and current information on birds.
You can find such current information in resources like those mentioned here, as well as Birds of Virginia from American Bird Conservancy, which is a guide to birds commonly found around the Commonwealth, including sections on Backyard Birds, Forest Birds, Waterbirds, Grassland Birds, and Raptors. Audubon is another resource which provides a more refined look at bird trends. For example, they look at Shenandoah National Park's birds and climate change and provide data on bird activity during summer and winter seasons. All these resources can be useful during birding excursions and discussions in your learning spaces!