Audubon Florida Oral History Project

Audubon Florida and its affiliated chapters have led the way in environmental conservation and restoration in the state since its inception in 1900. Since 2,000 volunteers participated in the first Florida Christmas bird count led by Frank Chapman, Audubon Florida has harnessed the energy of ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. Audubon Florida was formed during an acute environmental crisis in the state, when plume hunters all but wiped out the state’s population of wading birds. Since then, the organization has been at the forefront of promoting bird conservation, conserving land and studying the relationships of birds to Florida’s precious ecology. In this project funded by the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation, Dr. Ann Hodgson interviews Audubon managers, researchers, employees, and volunteers. This project is part of an effort to capture the collective memory of the organization and help contextualize Audubon Florida's archival collections.