The Biological Museum of the Butantan Institute (Museu Biológico do Instituto Butantan), located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, is one of the Latin-American winners of the 2016 Celebrate Urban Birds mini-grant. This year, the Biological Museum team feels the tremendous commitment of connecting the citizens of São Paulo with the urban birds in their communities. The coordinator of the project states:
“To develop educational activities in urban spaces for the conservation of avian species is an unmeasurable opportunity to spread environmental awareness and the need to conserve nature.”
A very true statement indeed! During the months of April and May, the Institute’s Bird Observatory team will unite with community leaders to develop the citizen science project in the city. In each event, educational material, such as posters and mini-guides of local birds and those in the Southeast Atlantic Forest, will be distributed to the participants to help them with bird identification. The team hopes that the use of their materials and bird observations will be used as an example of how science and the general public can join forces to make a difference. In the meantime, they are trying out their bird identification materials in a trial run.
