HCAS Birders Scholarship 2023
High Country Audubon Society (HCAS) is pleased to announce a scholarship opportunity to support up to four young birders who would like to attend a Carolina Bird Club meeting but lack the necessary funds.
This Scholarship program is designed to encourage participation in birding activities by a younger group than is typically found at these events. We believe that lack of funds is one reason few younger birders attend the CBC meetings. HCAS hopes that this scholarship opportunity will help our next generation of birders to participate in these meetings and will allow them to experience the wonders of birding in a setting that provides tremendous learning opportunities.
The Carolina Bird Club’s website states that, “The Carolina Bird Club holds general meetings three times a year, in mid-winter, spring, and fall. The winter meeting is usually held in late January or early February, the spring meeting in late April or early May, and the fall meeting in late September or early October. The main focus of the meetings is birding, thus the meeting location is rotated among good birding locations in the three regions of the club: eastern and western North Carolina, and South Carolina. Meetings also feature evening programs and social hours on Friday and Saturday.”
At this time the winter 2023 meeting is planned for the Outer Banks, the spring meeting will be in Boone/Blowing Rock, and the fall meeting will be in Havelock (NC). Information about past and future Carolina Bird Club meetings can be found on its website at http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/meetings/
The HCAS Birding Scholarship will award up to $710 to a college student or recent graduate, or up to four students/graduates who apply as a group, to help them attend a CBC meeting in either North or South Carolina during the 2023 calendar year. Only currently-enrolled students or people who have graduated within one year of the CBC meeting may apply. Applicants must be 25-years-old or younger at the time of the meeting and live in or attend school in one of the five counties covered by HCAS (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Watauga and Wilkes counties).
Acceptable Expenses:
Amount: Up to $710 will be provided, with the following limits:
| Meeting registration ($35) | HCAS will pay for up to 4 recipients (up to $140 total) | |
| Hotel room ($400) | HCAS will pay for one room for three nights (up to $400) | |
| Evening banquet ($30) | HCAS will pay for up to 4 recipients if held (up to $120 total) | |
| Gas stipend ($50) | HCAS will provide a check to cover this expense |
The award winner(s) will be asked to write a short story (approximately 300 – 500 words in length) for the High Country Audubon Society’s listserv describing their experience at the meeting.
The HCAS Birding Scholarship began in 2015 when two anonymous HCAS members donated $250 to HCAS to help Alexandra Vlk, a recent college graduate, attend the CBC 2015 winter meeting at Nags Head. The chapter’s Board decided to make the scholarship an official program and supported three Appalachian State University students attending the spring meeting in 2016. In both 2018 and 2019 students from Lees-McRae College attended the Winter CBC meetings. Due to the Covid pandemic no meetings were offered in 2020 and 2021.
The application to apply for the HCAS Birding Scholarship can be downloaded by clicking here.
Applications are due by November 5, 2022, and the person(s) selected will be announced by November 12. Funds will be available in time to be used for registration for the selected meeting.
Contact Bob Cherry here, if you have questions.
