Support the Avian Internship Memorial Fund this Giving Tuesday
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!
Join the Giving Tuesday movement. It is the biggest day of the year for generosity. By giving to Klamath Bird Observatory, you are helping to support long-term monitoring that provides information about changes in bird populations, in-depth theoretical research that advances our understanding of bird distribution and movements, and applied ecology that addresses natural resource management challenges. We ask that you help us with our continued efforts to protect birds, putting birds and KBO’s science at the forefront of conservation decision-making and action. 
In celebration of giving Tuesday the Rogue Valley The Messenger is hosting Giving Raffle at local breweries and beer pitstops, recognizing KBO, along with other local non-profits, and encouraging readers to donate to each of the organizations. Check out the Messenger’s 
KBO’s resilience is inspired by the support we receive from our donors who believe in our work to advance bird and habitat conservation through science, education, and partnerships. In 2020, as the Covid pandemic challenged all of us, KBO showed our resilience, adapting to the novel circumstances. Keeping the safety of staff, partners, and the rural communities where we work as our priority, for the first time in nearly 30 years we decided to postpone the vast majority of our field season. However, we were not idle with our time. Our staff diligently worked from home, implementing key nearby field studies, publishing a number of conservation-relevant papers, producing several new strategic conservation planning documents, and video conferencing extensively with partners. Our work stayed focused on ensuring that birds and KBO’s science stay at the forefront of conservation decision making and action
