Chirp! is an immersive, educational initiative designed to spark a lifelong love for the environment in youth from underserved and marginalized South Florida communities. Nurturing curious young minds with the wonders of birds and nature helps develop a meaningful connection to our region’s native flora and fauna, empowering future stewards of our natural world.
CULTIVATE EDUCATE EMPOWER
The free Chirp! Program cultivates environmental literacy by engaging youth ages 5 to 12 in hands-on educational activities. Topics include: Introduction to Birding, Native Plants and their Pollinators, Bird Adaptations, Bird Migration, Environmental Stewardship, and Climate Change.
Tropical Audubon Society’s wooded campus provides an enchanting setting for students to immerse themselves in a green oasis in the heart of High Pines, just east of downtown South Miami. Participants can wander the nature trails that thread Tropical Hardwood Hammock and Pine Rockland demonstration forests where birds flit and forage in the leafy canopy. They can try their hand at field sketching; explore pollinator gardens that attract and support the birds, bees, butterflies, bats and beetles who feed our planet; and play interactive, lesson-driven bird physiology games.
Following program completion, each participant is presented with a certificate of achievement, recognizing them for their curiosity about and commitment to our South Florida ecosystems.
Coordinated by TAS Education & Advocacy Director Dr. Stephanie Clements, Chirp! is offered on the second Saturday of September through May (except February and December). Contact Stephanie at education@tropicalaudubon.org to schedule your group’s visit.
Chirp! is supported in part by our founding funder, the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation.
Program DETAILS
WHO: For underserved local youth ages 5 to 12. Open to Community Groups of up to 50 attendees. Chaperones are required.
WHAT: Free, 3-hour Environmental Education Program
WHEN: Second Saturday, September through May, except February and December
WHERE: Tropical Audubon Society, 5530 Sunset Drive, Miami, FL 33143 (transportation is not presently funded).
WHY: Spark a lifelong love for the environment in youth from underserved and marginalized South Florida communities.
For more information about curriculum, scheduling options, or off-site programming, contact Stephanie Clements: education@tropicalaudubon.org
Meet Chirp! Coordinator Stephanie Clements, Ph.D.
Stephanie Clements joined Tropical Audubon Society as Education & Advocacy Director in May 2022 after earning her Ph.D. in Biology from University of Miami. She has been passionate about conservation of our natural world from a young age, and brings expertise in conservation biology, interpretive programming and environmental advocacy to our organization.
The Pennsylvania native received her B.S. in environmental science from Roanoke College in Virginia before moving to Miami for graduate school. Throughout graduate school, Stephanie was invested in scientific outreach programs, both at UM and with area partner organizations, and also worked in fragmented habitats in Costa Rica and in Miami-Dade County, including Pine Rocklands. She also previously enjoyed tenures as an interpretive park ranger with the National Park Service, as a field manager with an environmental advocacy group, and as a children’s educational program instructor at a zoo. Her doctorate dissertation focused on conservation of reptiles and amphibians.
In her Education & Advocacy role, Stephanie will steward and expand the flagship Tropical Audubon Ambassador Program, which cultivates interested Miamians as environmental advocates. She plans to broaden the scope of this and other conservation-based advocacy programs to engage with historically underrepresented or excluded communities.
Stephanie strongly believes in engaging kids with nature from a young age, and looks forward to developing interactive learning opportunities for South Florida families, including a post-pandemic reboot of our society’s annual Bird Day.
In her free time, Stephanie enjoys hiking, camping, traveling, spending time with friends, and playing with her indoor cat.
Banner Photos: (right to left) Painted Bunting by David McGowen; Child holding plant courtesy of Canva; Atala Butterfly in Coontie by Colin Knight.