Crafton’s for the birds.
But not the way you might think. Rather, the borough is creating a volunteer subcommittee to advance initiatives associated with Crafton’s Bird Town PA designation and certification.
Crafton is one of 18 municipalities in the southwestern part of the state to receive that designation from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. The designation became official in the fall, and now the borough’s Shade Tree Commission is assembling the Bird Town subgroup to advance the process.
A virtual meeting will be held March 21 for those interested in getting involved.
The idea behind Bird Town PA is to educate community members about the importance and the benefits of birds, how to enhance their habitat and generally raise environmental awareness.
John Oliverio, the borough council president and a former Shade Tree commissioner, said Crafton is home to a large bird population that includes raptors, eagles and other species that are attracted to nearby Chartiers Creek. And there’s a healthy contingent of residents who care about those birds and others, Oliverio said.
“We have a big community of residents interested in birds,” Oliverio said, “and in creating good bird habitat.”
Oliverio said the borough also boasts a substantial trail network, which currently is under study with an eye toward improving them and encouraging residents to make use of them.
“There are pockets in the community interested in certain things,” Oliverio said, “but there’s great interest in this.”
Christin Sciulli, a member of the Shade Tree Commission and a neighbor of Oliverio’s, said she was preparing for a commission meeting when she “fell down a rabbit hole” after coming across the Bird Town program.
“I read into it and it sounded like it was attainable for us,” she said of the designation, which was originally hatched in 2008 as a Bird Habitat Recognition program in 2008 by Audubon Pennsylvania.
Sciulli said she thought the program would complement the community’s Shade Tree program and also fit in with its community farm that’s been around for more than a decade.
“I thought the three programs could work nicely together,” she said.
Sciulli spearheaded the application process and the borough council got on board last summer. By mid-September, the Audubon Society of Southwestern Pennsylvania bestowed the Bird Town PA designation on Crafton.
Nick Stahlman, the local Audubon Society’s community conservation coordinator, the goal of the Bird Town program is to connect people with birds and nature. That’s done through projects and programming that promote community-based conservation efforts, Stahlman said.
Stahlman said the local Audubon Society has been impressed by the “amazing” work that Crafton’s Shade Tree Commission has been doing.
“We’ve been really inspired with some of the caretaking and preserving certain trees and features with wildlife habitat in mind,” he said.
Stahlman said municipalities that receive the Bird Town designation start at a “green” level of certification, and during that first year, they receive resources and support from the Bird Town PA organization to help them with projects designed to educate the public and promote bird-friendly practices. Participating communities earn points that can result in them moving up the Bird Town ranks to bronze, silver and eventually gold in subsequent years.
Nathan Henry, chairman of the borough’s Shade Tree Commission, said joining a program that’s affiliated with the area Audubon Society was a “no-brainer” because of the wealth of information and knowledge the society possesses.
“They can help us get a better idea how as a (Shade Tree) Commission we can better sustain habitats within our community,” he said.
“They offer a lot of programs that we can buy into. And we have the option of having them and their team come over to some of our events we have, whether it’s for education or to help build things.”
For example, Henry said there’s been some discussion about a project to build a chimney swift tower or towers, which would provide habitat for chimney swift birds that are seeing their habitat options dwindle as people cap their chimneys.
“We have a lot of trail space underutilized in Crafton – why not use some of it for chimney swifts?” Henry asked.
Henry, who is 22 and was born and raised in Crafton, said the borough’s tree-lined West Steuben Street helped give him a better appreciation for trees and nature in general while he was growing up.
“I don’t know if other people are attracted to Crafton because of that,” he said. “But I know there are a lot of environmentally conscious and (environmentally) loving people here.”
Henry said that educating people about what they can do in their own backyards will be a major emphasis of the Bird Town effort. “And then we can transition to municipal action,” he said.
Although this might not come into play in Crafton, Stahlman said some Bird Town communities have rules in place that require developers to pick from approved species when their projects require the planting of replacement or landscaping trees. Those approved species might be native to the area or provide quality habitat or at least aren’t detrimental to the community.
Stahlman said he runs across countless people in his line of work who have a story to share about their personal connection with birds, whether it’s an experience they had with a red-tailed hawk or simply watching cardinals from their back porch.
“Everyone has a connection to birds,” he said. “They’re everywhere, and they’re a gateway to environmental education and conservation-mindedness.
“They’re also in severe decline.”
Stahlman said that numerous data points show there are 3 billion less birds than existed 50 years ago and that climate change and habitat loss are the main culprits.
“By trying to promote bird-friendly practices, hopefully we’ll see an increase in species or at least stop or slow down the decline and get people to be more inspired to take action,” Stahlman said.
Stahlman said it makes sense to court municipalities in addition to individual people because the efforts of large groups can have more impact.
“Municipalities have a fair bit of property they own or manage,” he said. “Sometimes it can be just a grass field. But it’s important they don’t overly use pesticides or herbicides and manage (their land) in a way that will help wildlife habitat.”
Sciulli said she’s very excited to see the borough move ahead with establishing the Bird Town subcommittee and begin its education efforts.
“There are a lot of different activities that can be done throughout the community to gain points,” she said. “For example, we have an opportunity to do more things to get the kids involved from Crafton Elementary School. And we’ll be able to have information sessions at our spring Arbor Day Celebration and our Fall Festival.
“We’ll have an opportunity to educate the borough as a whole.”
Sciulli said she has seen many types of bird species since moving to Crafton eight years ago, but her favorite is the crow. She said that while growing up, her grandfather would “caw” to the crows, and that always stuck with her.
“I thought that was amusing,” she said. “They’ve always been around in my life – I seem to notice them more. Some cultures say they are spirit animals, and there’s a lot of superstitions around them. Some people find them creepy and associate them with death, but they’re very smart, and they form these wonderful social groups. They have families and partners for life.”
Sciulli acknowledges that not everyone’s as big a bird fan as she is.
“A lot of people think they are messy, and some people are afraid of birds,” she said. “But I’m hoping the prevailing sentiment is that they’re cool.”
For those interested in attending the March 21 Zoom meeting, contact Henry at henry.nathan@chatham.edu to receive a link.
This is fantastic! I love watching my birds. Thank you.