Celebrate Earth Day (a little early) with a free showing of Audubon: John James Audubon and the Birds of America at 6:30pm in the Farish Theater on March 29th.  This highly-acclaimed documentary by Rara Avis Films tells the story of Audubon, America's best-known painter of birds, and the wild creatures he loved. His passion for birds carried him across a continental wilderness to observe them in their natural habitat, and his skills as an artist and observer immortalized them and their environment to remind and inspire us a full two centuries later. His work influenced every generation of nature lover that came after him, from Henry David Thoreau's to Teddy Roosevelt's, and helped to preserve a small portion of the wild lands he explored and documented. A singular visionary in frontier America, Audubon was a godfather of today’s conservation movement. Please join us for the free showing, part of the Bluegrass Earth Movie Series, which this year will include films about Audubon, urban landscapes, and our green energy future.

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Central Kentucky Audubon Society has already added its collective name to the long list of organizations supporting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act by signing the American Bird Conservancy's #TogetherForBirds Take Action petition. But that doesn't mean we don't need your individual voice as well. Over the last few years, these two critical pieces of environmental protection legislation have come under increasingly hostile attack from those who want to weaken or altogether eliminate them. Decisions made by our current Congress and Administration will have far-reaching impacts on our native wildlife. It is important for our elected officials to understand that we feel deeply about protecting the environment, that this is not a partisan issue, and that birds know no political parties. It doesn't matter on what side of the political spectrum you find yourself: if you care about birds (and we know you do or you wouldn't be getting this newsletter), please sign the ABC petition to show your support for conservation and to ensure the progress made in recent decades is preserved. Then tell all your friends.

Or if you'd like to do more than just sign a petition, CKAS members have been invited to join 350 Louisville and the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club on a bus ride to Washington DC to participate in the People's Climate March on Saturday, April 29th. The bus leaves at 8:00pm on Friday from Louisville but will stop to pick up passengers as needed; tickets are $98 on a sliding scale (you're encouraged to pay more if you can) and available through this link. Given Audubon's peer-reviewed science regarding the effects of climate change on birds and the number of bird species threatened or endangered because of this (314 species on the brink), CKAS encourages all our members who can to participate.

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