IOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT 1994:

The Environmental Education program of the Society was again very active 'his year. The monthly program started with the members night show of slides 1nd natural history items. Our monthly speakers program then followed featuring Gary Schneider (Macphail Woods Forestry project), Rachel Gautreau fnesting habits of the Piping Plover), Glen Roberts (spectacles of the night sky) , Bernard Jackson (butterfly enhancement), Lawson Drake (A Tribute to Francis Bain) , and Gary Schneider (songbird declines in North America). In 1ddition to these efforts, the Society participated in the Forestry Division’s open house, contributed prizes to the Wildlife Week radio program, :rovided lecturers on bird identification and habitat enhancement, gave several issues of Island Wings to a school class for a project, held a field :rip to Brier Island, continued the collection of amphibian and reptile records, and published five issues of the Island Naturalist.

David Stewart coordinated the International Migratory Bird Day on May 14 Ihile Ray Cooke led a field trip to Valleyfield Demonstration Woodlot. Ray 1180 assisted the P.E.I. National Park with their first annual Autumn Bird :ount while Ruth Richman, Gary Schneider, and Dan McAskill coordinated the efforts of the dozens of field counters and feeder watchers (see pages 5-7 :his issue) on the three Christmas Bird Counts. Society letters were written Ln support of the renewal of the forestry silviculture program and the removal of the Irving Whale. Society representatives assisted various government departments and agencies with ecotourism and special events alanning. Information was provided to Hank Deichmann on the history of :hristmas Bird Count on P.E.I. for a 100th anniversary publication on which tank is working. Numerous requests for information on birding and bird identification were responded to by Society members.

The Society utilized its slide education collection to loan slides to leike Keunecke for her school education program, to Dan McAskill for the Introduction to Birding Course, and to the Hillsborough River Association for :heir video slide presentation on the Hillsborough River Heritage Rivers nomination. In November, the Society utilized funds from its book fund to reprint 1,000 copies of its colouring book, Island Wings.

Another monumental effort by Society members and friends, assisted by (r. Dale Small and Mr. Jim Jenkins of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, allowed a mini-census of the endangered Piping Plover to be completed. This affort was coordinated with that of counters across the eastern seaboard to reveal population trends (see article, p. 3-4, Island Naturalist # 132). The §ociety was the sponsor for the third year of a Piping Plover nesting habitat research program with funding provided by World Wildlife Fund Canada to Rachel Gautreau, a Master of Science candidate at Université de Moncton. A Society representative attended the Piping Plover Recovery meeting in Sackville to coordinate additional efforts on behalf of the species. In addition to this endangered species initiative, the Society participated with the Canadian Nature Federation, the Sierra Legal Defense Fund, and the Body Shop in a campaign designed to obtain federal endangered species legislation.

Society representatives, Shawn Legerwood and the late Wendell MacKay judged exhibits at the U.P.E.I. Science Fair. One individual was selected for the quality of their presentation in each of the three age categories. the winners were: Senior Category - Ben Smith on Lobster Farming; Intermediate Category - Chris Redmond of Fort Augustus Consolidated on Help

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