Dear Birders,

Santa Clara County Parks has launched their Everyone Belongs at Parks initiative which aims to collect information from county residents to help shape the equitable access vision and incorporate diversity, equity, and belonging into all aspects of the County’s Parks Department work. Outreach for this initiative includes a (very) short survey to help ensure that the county provides parks and programs that are welcoming and provide us with opportunities for responsible recreation in nature.

Our county parks provide us with a wealth of birding experiences, from the migrants and vagrants we search for in Vasona, the spectacular views of the South Bay and Lazuli Buntings to be found at Santa Teresa, and the eagles and Vermillion Flycatcher that call Grant Ranch home. They provide our community with places to socialize, exercise, and enjoy natures, all while providing vital open space for our local wildlife.

Please respond to the survey and in response to the question about how Santa Clara County Parks can be more welcoming to diverse users and visitors, consider including in your response:

Ask County Parks to adopt and implement a Dark Sky policy to safeguard the enjoyment of the dark sky and promote environmental health.
Ask for multilingual interpretive material and signage.
Ask for programming that focuses on the importance of darkness at night: bats, bird migration, constellations etc.
Ask for more family oriented activities, like bioblitzes, in different languages.
Ask for the reduction or discontinuation of pesticides and rodenticides on County Parks properties.
Ask the parks to protect, enhance, and restore habitat for migratory birds.

For more information on County Parks, please see https://parks.sccgov.org/home