This year we were able to fund 4 grant proposals submitted! Which brings our total to 113 grants and $100,521 awarded since the program’s inception, through this year. That means we hit the 100 thousand mark in grant money awarded to projects related to research and education about birds in Illinois!
One of IOS’s objectives is “To promote scientific research and education in order to improve knowledge and awareness of birds in Illinois”. The IOS Grants Program was initiated several years ago to support this objective with funding.
The 2020 IOS Grants Program received five requests for funding, representing a notably diverse set of study goals. The IOS review team evaluated each proposal, and determined that all were suitable for funding within the scope of that key objective described above. In addition to money provided directly by IOS, donations by four organizations and many individuals made it possible for all of the 2020 grant requests to be fully funded.
Sponsor Organizations:
Chicago Audubon Society
DuPage Birding Club
Illinois Audubon Society
Lake-Cook Audubon Society
Thanks to you all! Without the generosity of these organizations and IOS members and friends in the bird conservation community, IOS would not be able to support these projects. The support exemplified by this funding sends an important message to these students and researchers: We believe in your work, and we care about the future of our state’s bird life!
Thanks to John Andrews and Scott Meister for reviewing and evaluating all the requests.
Congratulations to the grant recipients! Watch for their project articles in future issues of Meadowlark and watch for short summaries on the IOS website. Here’s a synopsis of the 2020 grants. Where noted, individuals and organizations targeted those grants for their donations.
| Recipient | Affiliation | Project | Fully Sponsored by |
| Auriel Fournier | University of Illinois | Automated radio telemetry to track the migratory movements of wetland birds | Lake-Cook Audubon |
| Stephanie Schmidt | Illinois State University | Predation Risk at Marsh Bird Nests as a Result of Wetland Management at Emiquon Preserve (Havana, IL) | Chicago Audubon Society & Dupage Birding Club |
| Daniel Goldberg | Illinois State University | Disentangling the Effects of Visual and Acoustic Cues on Nocturnal Settlement Patterns in Soras | Illinois Audubon Society |
| Rachael Heaton | Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville | Does the addition of nest boxes to Illinois bottomland forest habitats improve the density of prothonotary warblers, Protonotaria citrea? | Illinois Audubon Society |