Valley Audubon Society to celebrate its centennial

Birds have been watched in the San Fernando Valley for a long time—at least 100 years— with the encouragement of the organization now known as the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society. The organization will celebrate its centennial at the awards banquet at 6 p.m. Fri., March 3 at the Airtel Plaza Hotel, 7277 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys.

For information and reservations, call Jeanne PolakRecht at (818) 360-1438.

Chartered on May 31, 1906 as the California Audubon Society, it was initially the only Audubon chapter in the state. As other c h a p t e r s were formed, the organization changed its operating name to one more closely representing its present sphere of influence.

The featured speaker at San Fernando Valley Audubon’s centennial awards banquet will be Pete Dunne, author of seven books on birding. A winner of the American Birding Association’s Roger Tory Peterson award for promoting the cause of birding, he is vice president of the New Jersey Audubon Society and director of its Cape May Bird Observatory.

Following the society’s custom, an award will be made at the banquet to the person who contributed most to advancing the society’s conservation

goals during

the previous year.

Dr. Linda Jones, an active member of the society, will receive this year’s award. Audubon is best known

for its attention

to

birds, but its

diverse membership takes an interest in the entire natural world, including flowers through trees and every form of wildlife, from butterflies to mammals. The society encourages conservation of natural resources, with talks at membership meetings and personal letters to legislators.

For more information on the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society, go online to www. sanfernandovalleyaudubon.org/ sfvas/.