Tag: AIM Fund

Support the Avian Internship Memorial Fund this Giving Tuesday

Written by Elva Manquera on December 2, 2024. Posted in Klamath Call Note.

This Giving Tuesday, please support KBO in training the next generation of conservationists with a matching donation to our Avian Internship Memorial (AIM) Fund. The AIM Fund honors Patty Buettner’s formative influence on KBO. By contributing to the AIM fund, you will help thank Patty’s family and friends for creating this fund in her memory. Your donation will leverage their continued financial support.

During her life, Patty was personally and professionally committed to wildlife conservation and made significant contributions to the field. Among them was her instrumental role in establishing the Klamath Bird Observatory. As one of our first partners, Patty helped us open the Upper Klamath Field Station and start our professional internship program in 1996.

Training the next generation of conservationists is essential for protecting migratory birds. The AIM fund helps support our bird banding interns by providing stipends for living expenses while in training for 3-6 months here in Oregon. Stipends provide an opportunity for any young professional to participate in our training program regardless of their financial resources. KBO interns are not only building skills, they are contributing to bird and habitat conservation science and international capacity-building, as many interns hail from outside the United States. KBO has trained interns from over 17 countries in the past 25 years!

“My internship at KBO transformed me in just one season. With expert guidance and hands-on training, I returned to Trinidad ready to lead my own bird banding station. Within a year, I expanded to three banding sites and introduced year-round monitoring. Klamath Bird Observatory taught me that skill plus effort and consistency equals fun and good data! I learned not only the technical aspects of bird banding but also the importance of cultivating community and engaging in education and outreach for effective conservation. My KBO experience has profoundly shaped my approach, highlighting that collaboration and knowledge sharing are key to successful conservation efforts.” A quote from past KBO intern Giselle Ragoonanan.

By donating to the AIM Fund, you will be supporting young professionals in gaining knowledge and skills that are essential to advancing bird and habitat conservation across the globe. Thank you!

Click here to donate.

Bird and Banders Beyond Borders Intern Exchange Program Update

Written by Elva Manquera on January 23, 2023. Posted in Klamath Call Note.

Klamath Bird Observatory is well known for its wide international reach, focusing on partnerships and capacity building across the ranges of our shared birds. KBO’s bird banding internship program has trained over 283 interns from more than 17 countries. The Mantiqueira Bird Observatory (OAMa) is a fruit of this capacity-building program, which is now running its own training program in Brazil. As part of the continued partnership between these two observatories, we are pleased to announce a new internship exchange program! After training in their home country, biologists will have the opportunity to visit and train at the other observatory. KBO will host a student from OAMa for three or six months each year, and OAMa will host a student from KBO for up to three months at their field station in Brazil, joining the local crew at the year-round bird monitoring on the Mantiqueira Highlands.

We are excited to share the first two interns participating in this program!

Otávio Rocha pictured to the left is OAMa’s Science Communication and Outreach Assitant. They will be traveling to KBO to train in the 2023 banding season.

“It is a great honor to participate in this exchange program as an OAMa representative. I am excited to start a new stage in my career and to apply all this rich experience in Brazilian biodiversity conservation initiatives.”

Victor Gonzalez, pictured on the right, was an intern in the 2022 banding season and will be traveling to Brazil to train with the OAMa staff as a KBO representative.

“The opportunity of this exchange internship is a blessing, being able to go to another bird observatory to learn from and work with. As a bird bander, it feels unreal going to a place you don’t know any of the birds, but at the same time, it feels like the best opportunity to try myself and keep improving in my professional career.”

Please help us support these amazing young scientists with a donation that will go to their travel and lodging. You can donate to the Avian Internship Memorial Fund. This fund was set up by the family and friends of Patricia Buettner to help support KBO’s long-running internship program.

These interns will also be supported by the FUNdraiser trip to Brazil happening April 12th-20th, 2023. There are only three spots left for this trip. The total cost is $5,000, due February 10th; this includes hotels, food (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and transportation (to and from the airport and during the trip). You can learn more HERE.

This article first appeared in OAMa’s newsletter. You can sign up for their newsletter here.

Avian Internship Memorial Fund — In Memory of Patricia Buettner

Written by Elva Manquera on December 17, 2021. Posted in Klamath Call Note, KBO Family, Press Room.

The Avian Internship Memorial Fund (AIM Fund) was started by the friends and family, of longtime KBO partner Patricia Buettner (Patty). The AIM Fund helps support KBO’s long-running internship programs by providing matching annual donations.

Patty Buettner’s Family and friends have established this annual fund in her honor. During her life, Patty was personally and professionally committed to wildlife conservation and made significant contributions to the field. Among them was her formative influence on the creation of the Klamath Bird Observatory. Patty was responsible for the 1st federal grant, offered by the Bureau of Land Management, that KBO received to enable the creation of our Upper Klamath Field Station, and in doing so, encouraging the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation to become regular supporters of KBO’s research, monitoring, conservation, and education programs in the Klamath Basin. Through her vision, Patty seeded what has now grown into decades of partnerships with federal agencies, NGOs, businesses, community members, and political representatives in the Klamath Basin. To read more about Patty click here.

By donating to the AIM Fund, you are helping KBO to continue educating young scientists interested in avian conservation. These funds help cover housing, supplies, travel costs, stipends, and other internship needs. Click here to donate.