Birding Festivals Video

A video from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shows how birding festivals across the nation are generating tremendous economic activity for local communities, while helping promote wildlife conservation and education at the same time.

Birding Festivals: An Economic Force for Conservation is a 15-minute video that promotes the use of birding festivals and other birding-related activities as valid, profitable tourism events to local communities. By helping local communities recognize the value of their bird habitats and populations, and even to feel protective of them, the video helps communities to conserve these priceless resources.

For those wanting to start a local birding festival, the video will provide ideas and tips from those who have been there. Using case studies of festivals in various regions of the country, the video gives examples of the entire spectrum of festivals-from simple, 1-day events to week-long celebrations; from events sponsored by single organizations to events that boast dozens of sponsors. It shows how the festivals got started, what the economic impacts are, and how other communities can take advantage of this tremendous opportunity.

For both novice and experienced festival organizers, Birding Festivals will serve as a tool for raising funds and gathering support. By showing this video to the tourism, conservation, and community interests in the local area, festival organizers can convey to them that birding activities can be quite profitable.

"The Kirtland's Warbler Festival Planning Committee was extremely impressed with your video tape on Birding Festivals. We intend to use it at presentations to community groups to assist in explaining the contributions a festival can make to the local economy and the importance of preserving ecosystems…. Thanks for developing such an excellent educational and promotional tool."

-Linda Barnes, Chairperson, Kirtland's Warbler Festival

"Great job! You've really put together a well balanced, informative, and very interesting video. Desperately needed as well. I was also delighted to see the balance of business information and great video of gorgeous birds."

-Paul Kerlinger, Ecotourism Consultant

The production of this video was generously sponsored by a broad array of partners:

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Cinergy Corp
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife
Colorado Division of Wildlife
California Fish and Game Department
Michigan Department of Natural Resources Nongame Fish & Wildlife Fund
USDA Forest Service, Nature Watch Program
Pinellas County, Florida
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

To order copies of the video ($15 each), call 1-219-258-0100 or email birdingfestivals@djcase.com.