Because of you, sea turtles were rescued in record numbers. Because of you, there are more
places to explore. Because of you, 2015 was an extraordinary year for wildlife and wild lands
in Massachusetts. Whether you are a member, donor, volunteer, or enjoyed one of our programs or special events, thank you for helping us continue to protect the nature of
Massachusetts for people and wildlife!
Here, a look at a few of the year’s accomplishments (plus a preview of what’s in store for next year):
62%
of cities and towns in Massachusetts have Mass Audubon educators working in their public and private schools.
265
acres of land protected in the last 12 months bringing our total to 35,754 conserved acres. On those acres, there are now two new wildlife sanctuaries open and ready to be explored: Richardson Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Tolland and Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary in Wenham.
Richardson Brook Wildlife Sanctuary – Richard Johnson
10,000
children attended one of Mass Audubon’s summer camps, where they learned about everything from insects to astronomy…and had a lot of fun!
1,255+
cold-stunned sea turtles washed ashore in Cape Cod Bay, prompting the largest rescue effort ever at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
copyright turtlejournal.com
377
members switched to green electricity this past year through our Make the Switch program, keeping 465,224 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere—the equivalent of taking 140 cars off the road.
4
licensed nature preschools, including our newest addition of the Ipswich River Nature Preschool at Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary in Wenham, welcome children for fun and learning.
Ipswich River Nature Preschool
28
volunteers logged 1,000 hours caring for Habitat Education Center’s 8 Nigerian dwarf goats. These goats help manage the land by eating invasive plants, and they also entertain curious visitors.
200,000
Galerucella beetles were released by Mass Audubon’s ecological management department in an effort to control purple loosestrife, an invasive plant degrading wetlands.
Looking ahead, in 2016…
We will open even more universally accessible trails, focus our land protection efforts on parcels identified by our scientists as the highest priority for conservation, produce the next State of the Birds report, and so much more.
Your year-end gift will make an impact by supporting important projects like these in the year ahead. Thanks again for a wonderful 2015, and we look forward to working with you in the coming year.