Audubon Great Plains, as part of the National Audubon Society, has some lofty and important goals for birds and people over the next several years. From “Bending the Bird Curve” and stopping the sharp decline of so many birds, especially grassland birds of the upper plains, to “Creating a diverse network of bird lovers working together to advance our shared vision,” our Community-Building milestone taken right from Audubon’s new strategic plan. But, how will we accomplish this? The answer is right there in the words: by building community relationships, trust, and partners.

Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center (SCPAC) staff, board members, and volunteers have been hard at work over the past several years exploring, chatting, counting, writing, dancing, singing, and more all as a way to connect communities around southeast Nebraska. Not only to each other and their cultures, but to birds and the climate crisis affecting humans and feathered friends alike.

Over this past year, we continued to strengthen tribal partnerships and to involve and share more indigenous voices and knowledge from across Nebraska, SCPAC’s RETURN OF THE THUNDERBIRDS event was a huge success at the Lincoln Indian Center. Co-created by cultural consultant Renee Sans Souci, the event welcomed over 500 community members who enjoyed native dances, songs, and art, listened to indigenous artists and authors, and celebrated a cross-cultural event to mark not only the return of migratory birds in spring but the Thunder Beings that bring rain, thunder, and renewal.

The event featured native dancers and musicians sharing native knowledge and culture, collaborative art thanking the birds and the earth for what they give us, and time for community members to chat, listen, and learn from each other on a beautiful spring day.

Later in the year, the center partnered with Lincoln Parks & Recreation to host CLIMATE AND CULTURE CONVERSATIONS: Birds & Words. The event, our second in a series, focused on sharing stories and inspiration using poetry and prose from State Poet Matt Mason and indigenous author and birder, Thomas C. Gannon. The event aimed to strengthen relationships with local writers, donors, and volunteers and provide writing prompts for attendees to use bird inspiration to tell and share their stories of what they see happening to birds in our community and the effects of climate change.

And finally, SCPAC is honored to be a part of the “Walking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors” project with the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska. This three-year multi-faceted project looks at land-based commemoration around Nebraska with the Otoe-Missouria nation and celebrates “Otoe-Missouria Day” every September 21 – this year held on the grounds at Spring Creek Prairie.

Building these and many more diverse relationships is imperative for birds, people, and our center. It not only strengthens our ties to our partners, friends, and families in the communities, but it strengthens all of our combined connections to each other, to birds, and the planet we share together.