On March 31, volunteers from GE will help Audubon North Carolina staff post nesting areas on Lea-Hutaff Island. They will carry signs and posts, dig about 100 post holes, and put up string and neon flagging between the signs. These posted areas will protect nesting birds, including American Oystercatchers and Wilson’s Plovers, which have arrived on the island and are selecting mates and establishing territories. Other species that nest on Lea-Hutaff Island include the Piping Plover, Least Tern, and Common Tern. GE is a longtime partner in our posting efforts, so to report on their assistance, we asked GE’s volunteer organizer, Chandi Davidson, about her experiences helping Audubon.
How long have you been volunteering to post Audubon North Carolina’s sanctuaries? I have participated in the Lea-Hutaff bird sanctuary posting each year since 2008.
How did you get started volunteering with GE for Audubon? I heard from another GE employee that GE volunteers would assist the Audubon Society with the habitat restoration efforts on the Cape Fear River islands. I contacted the Audubon Society who informed me that the habitat on the islands was still in good shape, but could use GE volunteer help with other projects. That’s how Lea-Hutaff became an annual event! Every year I organize volunteers to support this effort and is has become a big hit with everyone who has participated.
What is the best thing about the posting? Everyone loves environmental/wildlife habitat related projects and what could be better than helping protect shorebirds by spending a day at the beach?! Of course, we have been lucky with the weather for the past 4 years… (This year we are having to use our rain date, thanks to thunderstorms.)
What is the most challenging thing about the posting? I would have to say the “worst” (certainly most challenging) part of the event is carrying all those signs.
Do you have a favorite memory from a posting volunteer event? Posting the sanctuary at Lea-Hutaff is great in so many ways. I don’t know that I could select one particular favorite memory, but I love being out on the beach before tourist season and enjoying the boat ride to the island. Occasionally while setting sign posts in the sand you will see a few people, but generally it is very peaceful. Once someone came up to me to ask what we were doing. When I told him we were posting the shorebird nesting sanctuary he said “What a great thing to do!”. It was nice to hear that people do care.
Do you do other volunteer activities? I do participate in other GE volunteer events. Many of them are environmental/wildlife habitat related, such as oyster bed restoration and salt marsh restoration projects with the NC Coastal Federation. We also hold on-site volunteer events to clean out our blue bird boxes before the beginning of the nesting season.
