The Bergen County Audubon Society recently presented the NJSEA with a sign honoring the accomplishments and achievements by women in birding. Titled “Women Who Made the World Better for Birds and People,” the sign raised awareness of the often-overlooked contributions of women in the field. BCAS member Dee De Santis designed the poster.
The BCAS thought it was very important to finally bring attention to the critically historical role women have had in conservation, and protecting and preserving our wildlife, especially our birds,” said Don Torino, President of the Bergen County Audubon Society.
The NJSEA is thrilled to receive the sign, which is proudly displayed next to the entrance to the Marsh Discovery Trail, DeKorte Park’s most popular walkway.
Park visitors now have the opportunity to read about such guiding lights as Florence Merriam Bailey, a nature writer and ornithologist who is credited for writing the first known bird guide. “Birds Thorough an Opera Glass” was published in 1889.
Then there is Frances Hamerstrom, an ornithologist who dedicated herself to one avian species: The Greater Prairie-chicken. She spearheaded a research team that saved this this eccentric species from extinction in Wisconsin.
Phoebe Snetsinger, most famous for having seen and documented an amazing 8,398 bird species, a record at the time. In her excellent memoir, “Birding on Borrowed Time,” Snetsinger reflects on a lifetime of birding.
Genevieve Estelle Jones was a self-taught scientific illustrator who garnered the moniker, “other Audubon.” Inspired by Audubon paintings, Jones drew the nests and eggs of the 130 nesting species in Ohio at the time.
Rachel Carson isrecognized for her book, “Silent Spring,” which excoriated the pesticide industry. Carson was an outspoken advocate for the environment and one of the great social revolutionaries of her time.
Harriet Lawrence Hemenway and Minna Hall established the National Audubon Society.The pair were a dream teamwho double-handedly dismantled the 19th century plume trade. The plume trade entailed killing birds and sending them to fashion designers who used their feathers or entire bodies to make hats.
