“ The Americas ” Burrowing Owl Fundraiser

Burrowing owl nesting season is in full swing with chicks popping out all over Marco Island. This set the stage for an amazing event we held at the Wesley United Methodist Church, thanks to the help of our incredible volunteers and generous donors! BBC approached us about filming the burrowing owls for “The Americas” on NBC back in 2021. We were honored to be one of the few chosen out of all of the species in North and South America, and excited to help showcase this resilient species facing increasing threats in a growing urban environment. The film crew spent several weeks with us in both 2022 and 2023, filming hundreds of hours all over the island and meeting the community and our volunteers. They were such a respectful group of people that truly wanted to highlight the natural behaviors and were devoted to understanding what these owls were facing. BBC was able to zoom into our fundraiser late at night in England and answered questions from the crowd! The Gulf Coast episode was a beautiful compilation of Southwest Florida. If you haven't had the chance to watch it, it is streaming on Peacock. 

Our fundraiser would not have been successful without the teamwork of our staff and volunteers. Massive shoutout to Sharon and Brad Epple for coordinating food trucks - Let's BeeFrank Food Truck and TezzyPooh Ice Cream Truck! Sharon specifically spent weeks of her time leading the organization of gathering donated auction items from countless businesses on the island with the help of Pam Fawcett and Lynn Crane. Thank you to all of the generous donors who directly helped our conservation efforts! Additionally, thank you to all of the volunteers who contributed to the setup and event! We appreciate the Wesley family for allowing us to host this event in their beautiful sanctuary. Paddy G played wonderful music once again! 

It was an incredible night and we hope you all enjoyed it! If you are interested in becoming a member and/or volunteer of Audubon Western Everglades, please email us at audubonwe@live.com or check out our website at audubonwe.org.