Category Archives: Chapter News

York County Audubon would like to thank all those who pledged toward the 2010 Birding Challenge. Due to their generosity, YCAS is pleased to make these disbursements:

• $1500 Stratton Island Internship
• $750 The Center for Wildlife
• $750 The Nature Conservancy — to help support the repair to the boardwalk at the Saco Heath
• $500 The Kennebunkport Conservation Trust — to supply the bird feeders

York County Audubon thanks the businesses who helped make the 2010 Birding Challenge a success:

• Alfredo’s Italian Pizzeria, Wells
• B & B Burner Service, Biddeford
• Bluethroat Birdtours LLC, Sierra Vista, Arizona
• Bob & Mike’s Mini Mart, Saco
• Body in Balance Physical Therapy, Inc., Springvale
• Buffleheads, Inc., Biddeford
• The Center for Wildlife, Cape Neddick
• Chiropractic Family Wellness Center, Scarborough
• Cote-Dow Accounting Services, Bar Mills
• Don Guay’s Service Center, Kennebunk
• Dupuis Hardware, Biddeford
• Esty Optical Company, Saco
• Karen E. Hall, DMD, PA, Kennebunk
• Kennebunk Hardware, Kennebunk
• Lo Ink Specialties, Kennebunkport
• Port Lobster Co., Inc., Kennebunkport
• Ray’s Auto Tech, Biddeford
• Resurgence Engineering, Portland
• Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution, Saco
• Saco Valley Autocare, LLC, Saco
• Shady Brook Farm, Biddeford

Scott Richardson and Bill & Monica Grabin with David Shackelford (speaker at the 2010 annual meeting)

Monica Grabin is a musician and educator. She is the creator of historical programs called “Singing History,” which she has presented for thousands of students and many libraries, museums and other organizations throughout New England since 1986. These programs use authentic songs and stories to teach about many aspects of American history. She is a featured artist with the Maine Arts Commission’s Touring Artists and Arts in Education Programs, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. She is also an avid birder and amateur naturalist. She and her husband, Bill, have spent countless hours in the Maine woods and across America hiking, birding, and appreciating the wonders of our natural world.

Bill Grabin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 with a degree in natural science, and has maintained a great appreciation for the outdoors since hiking and camping in many of the national parks during his college years. He is proud to have been a co-founder of Renaissance Greeting Cards, the first major greeting card publisher to produce its complete line on recycled paper. He served as a Director of the Kennebunk Land Trust for ten years, including three years as President. He moved to Maine in 1981 with his wife Monica and their two children, Gabe and Brenna.

Scott Richardson’s childhood fascination in birds grew stronger over the years thanks to patient mentors and a supportive family. By the time he moved to Maine, at 20, birding had become a serious hobby. A few years later, he began formally studying natural history with a focus in ornithology. During the 1990s, he surveyed birds in Washington, Alaska, Hawai`i, and Maine; wrote recovery plans and status reports as a state endangered species biologist; and became enthusiastic about citizen science. For the past 10 years, he has had a key role in spreading the word about York County’s incredible Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve and its vital nonprofit partner, Laudholm Trust.