December 20, 2021

Mass Audubon has named Scott McCue as its new Metro West Regional Director, including oversight of the wildlife sanctuaries Broadmoor in Natick, Drumlin
Farm in Lincoln, Habitat Education Center in Belmont, and Waseeka in Hopkinton.

December 9, 2021

Mass Audubon has been named one of 10 organizations from throughout the country to be accepted by the Lawrence Hall of Science and Justice Outside to participate in the Working Toward Racial Equity (WTRE) Workshop Series.

WTRE, based at the University of California, Berkeley, supports environmental and outdoor science organizations to foster equitable, inclusive, and culturally relevant work environments and organizations.

November 19, 2021

Mass Audubon is embarking on an exciting new chapter in its mission to connect people and nature, through a collaboration that will establish an urban greenspace and seasonal nature center at Magazine Beach on the Charles River in Cambridge.

Partners in this community-centered initiative, which will focus on nature-based education and programming, include the City of Cambridge, Magazine Beach Partners, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

November 16, 2021

Mass Audubon’s annual “Hike-a-thon” takes place Friday through Sunday, November 26-28. For this year’s Hike-a-thon, Mass Audubon continues to mark its 125th Anniversary by inviting individuals and families to discover the benefits of time spent outdoors by hiking at least 1.25 miles over the three-day period (or all at once!). 

November 4, 2021

Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center (BNC) in Mattapan has embarked on an ambitious commitment to become carbon neutral by 2022, thanks in large part to crucial $100,000 commitments from the City of Boston’s George Robert White Fund, Tern Foundation’s TernSOLAR challenge grant program, and several generous individual donors. 

October 19, 2021

Three organizations - Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, and Mill City Grows - are working in partnership to protect an historic Lowell farm.The intent of the partnership is to create an urban wildlife sanctuary and education center at the property, known as Rollie's Farm, dedicated to local agricultural and community-based environmental education. 

July 29, 2021

Mass Audubon’s Duck Derby fundraiser at Allens Pond has long been an eagerly anticipated event each August and now the popular wildlife sanctuary on Buzzards Bay is doubling down on mid-month fun with its inaugural Summer Celebration, taking place Saturday, August 14.

The 18th annual Duck Derby takes place this year on the following Thursday, August 19.

July 9, 2021

Mass Audubon has promoted Nia Keith Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ), a new executive-level position that will help advance organization-wide DEIJ priorities. 

In her new role, Keith will be responsible for building on and advancing the organization’s DEIJ strategy to ensure it is creating a positive, inclusive, and equitable work environment, and support the organization’s work to create greater access to nature for everyone.

July 6, 2021

Victoria Jones has been named Mass Audubon’s Chief Development Officer. Victoria, former President of Development Guild DDI, a national nonprofit management consulting firm based in Boston and New York City, brings to Mass Audubon more than 30 years of experience as a respected development executive and fundraising leader.

July 3, 2021

Bear Hole, a 1,400-acre ecologically diverse greenspace located in West Springfield and Holyoke, is now permanently protected.  

To make this vision a reality, Mass Audubon and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) purchased a Conservation Restriction (CR) on the land. While the CR ensures that the property will never be developed, West Springfield will continue to own and manage the property. 

June 17, 2021

Mass Audubon applauds Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to use nearly $3 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to build back the Massachusetts economy and hardest-hit communities and residents, through investments in housing access, infrastructure, and the environment.

The statewide conservation organization looks forward to seeing Gov. Baker’s team work closely with the Legislature to achieve this effort. Mass Audubon President David J. O’Neill noted that the plan calls for $100 million to go to open space and resilient lands, as well as parks and recreation opportunities. 

June 9, 2021

Mass Audubon’s annual statewide photography contest, Picture This: Your Great Outdoors, has returned—just as people are beginning to feel more comfortable exploring and appreciating the Commonwealth’s natural beauty.

May 19, 2021

Over the past several weeks, Mass Audubon has received a number of requests from members and stakeholder groups to play an active role in protecting the 1,500-plus-acre Cumberland Farms property in Middleboro and Halifax.

May 10, 2021

In 2015 Mass Audubon initiated a project to enroll nearly 10,000 acres of forest on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) carbon offset market, the most rigorous in the nation. We entered the California market in good faith to commit ourselves to managing for carbon on these acres, generate income to support our mission, and support one of the most robust policies that puts a price on carbon emissions.

April 28, 2021

Mass Audubon has presented the inaugural Liz Duff Excellence in Environmental Education Award to Lisa Moore, the Environmental Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Town of Wellesley’s Natural Resources Commission. Moore was presented the award, which comes with a $1,000 gift to support her office’s programs, at the annual conference of the Massachusetts Environmental Education Society, held virtually this year March 10-13.

April 27, 2021

Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon’s biggest annual fundraiser, is set to return Friday and Saturday, May 14-15—during peak spring migration period—when participants  of all ages and abilities will compete to identify the most bird species and complete nature activities in 24 hours.

The event begins promptly at 6 pm Friday, May 14th and ends at 6 pm on Saturday, May 15th. This year, Bird-a-thon is a major highlight as Mass Audubon celebrates its 125th anniversary—and as many more people continue to forge personal connections with nature during the pandemic.

April 7, 2021

Educators from the Falmouth, Boston, and Agawam school systems have been named 2021 Conservation Teachers of the Year by Mass Audubon, the state’s largest nature conservation organization.

They are Christine Brothers, a Falmouth High School teacher; Georgette Copeland, who teaches kindergarten and first grade at the James J. Chittick Elementary School in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood; and Tammy Rumplik, a teacher at the James Clark and Clifford Granger elementary schools in Agawam.

March 26, 2021

With Governor Baker’s signature on the climate Roadmap bill today, Massachusetts becomes one of a handful of jurisdictions in the world to place legal limits on climate pollution at levels consistent with the best climate science.Through the passage of this landmark bill, An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy, the state commits to reducing  greenhouse gas emissions by 50% below 1990 levels by 2030, 75% by 2040, and at least 85% by 2050. 

February 22, 2021

Thanks to the generosity and vision of a longtime local family, the Museum of American Bird Art (MABA) is larger by nearly three acres and can offer greater protection for Pequit Brook, which flows through the wildlife sanctuary as an important part of the greater Neponset River Watershed.

February 12, 2021

Make the most of Mass Audubon’s “Winter Recess,” which is offering  programs and activities beginning Saturday, February 13 and running through the end of the month that invite children and families to enjoy the outdoors in winter.

There’s a full range of fun and engaging opportunities to check out, from Vacation Week options at Mass Audubon’s statewide network of wildlife sanctuaries to at-home and online programs and “Nature Play Days,” all of which encourage families to connect with the natural world during the colder months.

January 31, 2021

Mass Audubon is pleased to announce the appointment of Michelle Manion to be Vice President of Policy and Advocacy. Manion’s position was elevated to the Vice President level, signaling Mass Audubon’s commitment to support robust climate action, and land and wildlife protection as a priority environmental policy in town halls, on Beacon Hill, and in the nation’s capital.

January 27, 2021

The Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) has awarded Mass Audubon a $30,000 grant to restore wetland and floodplain forest vegetation along near a half-mile of West Beaver Dam Brook at its Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth. The award from MET, a grant program of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs whose mission is to support projects that enable innovative approaches to protect and restore natural resources, represents crucial funding for the project.

January 21, 2021

Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Education Center celebrates the season each year by sponsoring the Superbowl of Birding, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s competition, has been modified in scope, with resultant rules changes. The 2021 event, taking place 5 am to 5 pm Saturday, January 30, thus has been dubbed the ”Semi-Superbowl of Birding.”

January 15, 2021

Mass Audubon is disappointed by Governor Charlie Baker's veto of the state legislature's climate bill, An Act creating a next-generation roadmap for Massachusetts climate policy, and urges immediate action.

January 14, 2021

Cape Cod’s annual cold-stunned sea turtle phenomenon and the people and organizations that respond are featured in a new television nature series for BBC and Discovery, A Perfect Planet, a five-part series hosted by Sir David Attenborough premiering in the U.S. and around the world this month.

The sea turtle rescue program, which focuses on the extraordinary efforts by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the New England Aquarium, and other partners, is featured in the final episode of the series, “Humans,” premiering Sunday, January 24.