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.

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.

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.

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.

UPDATE:  The summit officially closed on Saturday, December 12. We are happy to share that all 196 nations agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and set standards for monitoring and verification procedures. While the agreement is non-binding, it is still a major step in the right direction. Our friends over at the Union of Concerned Scientists were in Paris and offer a great interpretation of the agreement. Here at Mass Audubon, our efforts to prepare for the impacts of Climate Change in Massachusetts continue. Learn more about our work.

ORIGINAL POST: The United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21), where leaders from all over the world have convened in Paris to create a new global climate agreement, is entering is second week. Progress is afoot, and program leaders have announced a new version of a draft agreement. But, their work is far from complete and many issues still need to be sorted out.

This Monday and Tuesday, a two-day summit called Earth to Paris will livestream a series of renowned speakers, from UN Ambassador of Peace Jane Goodall to famed French photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand to actor Alec Baldwin, who will announce the winners of United Nations Development Programme Equator Prize. They will discuss how innovation, technology, and creativity are driving climate solutions and turning talk into ambitious climate action.

The event is not just taking place in Paris. Rather, Earth to Paris aims to inspire global dialogue and has asked people from around the world to send messages to COP21 leaders to explain why climate change action is critical using the hashtag #EarthtoParis.

The nature of Massachusetts will be affected substantially by climate change. And addressing its impacts to people and wildlife is a key part of our previous and new five-year Strategic Plan. But, to send a simple message to COP21, we reached out to our staff from across the state to give just a few reasons why they believe climate change action needs to happen now.

Have an #EarthtoParis message to share as well? Write it down, take a photo, and share it to our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account using #MassAudubon #EarthtoParis.

Climate Change Action Matters …