Causes: Environment, Environmental Education, Natural Resources Conservation & Protection, Water, Water Resources, Wetlands Conservation & Management

Mission: The audubon naturalist society inspires residents of the greater washington, dc region to appreciate, understand, and protect their natural environment through outdoor experiences, education, and advocacy.

Programs: Environmental education - the audubon naturalist society's (ans) educational mission is to nurture a lifetime of outdoor discovery, exploration and celebration of nature for people in the washington, d. C. Metro region. Ans connects with individuals and groups of all ages to create a community of people who actively care for the natural world. Through our school field trip and naturalist in the classroom programs we reach more than 6,000 area children each year. Our greenkids partnership with montgomery county, md and loudoun county, va public schools has educated more than 20,000 area schoolchildren about environmental stewardship. Our adult environmental education programs bring more than 2,000 people into nature each year to de-stress, unplug and connect with the natural world.

sanctuaries - the audubon naturalist society (ans) maintains three nature sanctuaries; our 40-acre woodend sanctuary in chevy chase, md; our 68-acre rust sanctuary in leesburg, va; and our 20-acre webb sanctuary in clifton, va. Visitors are invited to walk our sanctuary trails free of charge 365 days a year. The sanctuaries protect the integrity of some wildlife habitats in the dc metro region and provide opportunities for people to discover and appreciate the natural world through self-guided and/or naturalist-led experiences. Ans sanctuaries serve as places to educate people of all ages about environmental stewardship, as gathering places for our members, and as a meeting place for environmental classes and for organizations working to preserve the quality of the environment in the washington, dc area.

conservation - the audubon naturalist society (ans) conservation program focuses on protecting local clean water in the dc metro region. The ans conservation outreach involves citizens in working to preserve and restore vibrant ecological health to local waterways. Ans conservation volunteers support the longest running water quality monitoring program in the dc area, testing and reporting on the health of local streams. Our conservation work supports drinking water protection and monitoring, sustainable landscaping, stormwater management, protection of agricultural land and local food production, and protecting and restoring natural places where dc area citizens can connect with nature.