Events

SOS Save Our Songbirds launched in March 2023 as an initiative of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership to help bring a bird conservation message to Wisconsin communities at the same time interest in bird watching was increasing.

This volunteer-based, donation based group has directly inspired over 22,500 people at 110 events to take action at home to save declining songbirds by sharing information and starter supplies.

SOS Save Our Songbirds is coordinated by Lisa Gaumnitz, who wrote about nature for the WI Department of Natural Resources for 25 years and helped reporters do the same. Her appreciation for birds and concern over their decline she spurred the creation of SOS Save Our Songbirds.

Through an engaging and interactive presentation set for April 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Wehr Nature Center, Lisa will focus on three actions people can take at home to help songbirds: planting native plants good for birds; protecting birds from hitting home windows; and purchasing coffee and chocolate grown on farms meeting the highest standards for preserving our migratory birds’ winter habitats.

Lisa will discuss how SOS volunteers have reached new and more diverse audiences by offering a “Porch Prairie” container gardening workshop using native plants; Bird-friendly coffee and chocolate tasting parties, and a bird crafting event in which attendees decorated fabric birds to contribute to a national art project raising awareness about window collisions. Partnerships with other bird organizations, Wild Ones chapters, and other conservation groups and businesses have been key to experimenting with these innovative outreach events and spreading the word about home bird conservation. Attendees will receive supplies to jumpstart songbird conservation at home: a free native plant guide good for birds; samples of Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified coffee; and, for a $10 donation, a Feather Friendly window treatment kit to prevent birds from hitting a problem home window.