Meeting TimeThe Bird Town Committee meets the First Monday of each month at 6:30 pm in Burkart Hall located at 56 Keeley Avenue. *2022 only: In July and September, the Committee will meet the First Wednesday of the month. |
Committee MembersCouncil Liaison: Lori Kesilman Chair: Tom Price (2023) |
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Bird Town was first established as an Audubon PA program in 2010 to work in partnership with local municipalities and like-minded organizations to promote community-based conservation actions to create a healthier, more sustainable environment for birds, wildlife, and people.
Today, the Bird Town initiative is administered by Bird Town Pennsylvania. This revitalized and expanding grassroots program provides tools for municipalities to engage, educate and empower their residents, schools, and businesses to make more positive social, economic, and ecologically friendly decisions and promotes a culture of conservation where everyone is a potential steward of nature in their own backyard and beyond.
Restoration of natural systems and native plant communities for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife, on both private and public lands, has positive impacts on our communities including creating a healthier environment, reducing stormwater runoff, greenhouse gases and maintenance time, increasing property values and building community pride.
Please visit the Bird Town Pennsylvania website at https://birdtownpa.org/ to learn much more about the Bird Town program.
Committee Duties & Responsibilities
- In 2013, New Britain Borough became the 23rd Bird Town in Pennsylvania and the ninth Bird Town in Bucks County. A volunteer committee of Borough residents was established and given responsibility for the Bird Town program in the Borough. The responsibilities of the Borough’s Bird Town Committee are:
- To serve as New Britain Borough’s representative for Bird Town Pennsylvania’s Bird Town program.
- To promote and implement the goals of the Bird Town program and oversee Bird Town activities within the Borough.
- To promote conservation and community-based actions that create a healthier, more sustainable environment for both birds and people.
- To educate Borough residents about the importance of native ecosystems to birds, pollinators, and other wildlife.
- To encourage the restoration and creation of native plant communities on both public and private properties throughout the Borough.
- To encourage Borough residents and property owners to create healthy habitat for birds, insects, and other wildlife in their landscapes by removing invasive exotic species, planting native species, reducing pesticide use, conserving water, protecting water quality, and adopting other healthy-yard practices.
- To encourage Borough residents to register their properties in the various habitat recognition and certification programs supported by the Bird Town program.
- To serve as an advisory body to Borough Council and the Borough’s various commissions and committees on issues related to the goals of the Bird Town program.
Committee Activities
Since 2013, the Bird Town Committee has held multiple educational workshops and table events to promote the goals of the Bird Town program and to encourage Borough residents to register their properties with Audubon’s “Bird-Friendly Habitat Network.” All of the Borough’s public spaces have been registered in that network, as well. The Bird Town Committee has also promoted citizen-science initiatives such as the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count. It has promoted the use of bird and pollinator-friendly native plants on both privately and publicly owned properties in the Borough, held numerous native plant sales, sponsored an annual native plant pop-up park at the Town Center, and landscaped the Borough office and Burkart Hall properties with native plants.
NWF “Community Wildlife Habitat” Certification
In 2022, the Bird Town Committee succeeded in having New Britain Borough certified as a National Wildlife Federation “Community Wildlife Habitat,” one of only five such certified municipalities in the state of Pennsylvania.
In order to gain this certification, we needed a substantial number of properties (including homes, schools, businesses, churches, and public spaces) to be officially certified by the NWF as wildlife habitat. A wildlife habitat is free of pesticides and provides food, water, cover, and nesting sites. A vital component of such a habitat is native plants, which are often the only usable food sources for native insects and birds.
We still encourage Borough residents to certify their properties as wildlife habitat. The certification application can be found and submitted online at https://www.nwf.org/garden-for-wildlife/certify.
Additional Backyard Habitat Programs
Bird Town Pennsylvania supports numerous property registration and certification initiatives and encourages property owners to take part in these programs. An explanation about why these supported habitat programs are important and the complete list of them can be found at https://birdtownpa.org/backyard-habitat-programs/
Resources
Websites
- Bird Town Pennsylvania (https://birdtownpa.org/)
- Bucks County Audubon Society (https://www.bcas.org/)
- National Audubon Society (https://www.audubon.org/)
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology (https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home)
- Project Feeder Watch (https://feederwatch.org/)
- Great Backyard Bird Count (https://www.birdcount.org/)
- Homegrown National Park (https://homegrownnationalpark.org/)
- National Wildlife Federation (https://www.nwf.org/)
- Native Plant Finder (https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/)
- Plants for Birds (https://www.audubon.org/PLANTSFORBIRDS)
- Xerces Society (https://xerces.org/)
- Bird Town Forum (https://www.facebook.com/groups/birdtownforum)
- New Britain Borough Bird Town https://www.facebook.com/groups/233851350966151
- PA Native Plant Gardening (https://www.facebook.com/groups/PANativePlantGardeningForPollinators)
- PA Native Plant Society (https://www.facebook.com/groups/panativeplantsociety)
- Gardening for Pollinator and Wildlife Conservation (https://www.facebook.com/groups/gardenforwildlife)
- Pollinator Friendly Yards (https://www.facebook.com/groups/QuietOrganicYards)
Publications
Native Plants
- DCNR – Native Plant Brochure
- DCNR – Native Plants for Sunny Dry
- DCNR – Native Plants for Sunny Moist
- DCNR – Native Plants for Shady Dry
- DCNR – Native Plants for Shady Moist
Habitat for Birds and Wildlife
- Native Plants Offer More Bugs for Birds
- Native Plants for Birds
- Native Plants for Hummingbirds
- The Best Trees, Plants, Vines and Shrubs to Plant for Birds: A Starter List
- 10 Native Plants for a Bird Friendly Yard
- Chickadees Guide to Gardening
- Bringing Nature Home
- Bowman’s Hill Top 10 Native Plants for Birds
- Landscaping to Create Back Yard Bird Habitat
- Native Plants to Attract Birds
- Managing Habitat for Eastern Bluebirds
- Native Plants for Wildlife
Habitat for Insects and Pollinators
Natural Landscaping
Healthy Yard Practices
Bird Feeding and Nest Boxes
