News

From researching pollinators to removing invasive species, CARES students spent the year making meaningful contributions to conservation while building valuable STEM skills. As we celebrate another successful season, we’re also excited to announce a new Summer CARES opportunity focused on noxious weed education and management, made possible through support from the Montana Noxious Weed Trust Fund. Read on to learn how students are making a difference and how local high schoolers can get involved this summer.

This year marked a milestone for our Audubon Naturalist in the Schools (ANTS) program, with a record 74 classrooms participating across south-central Montana. Through 19–21 hours of hands-on learning, students connected with local ecosystems, wildlife, and Montana’s natural heritage. Thanks to our partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, many students were also able to explore and learn on nearby public lands. We are grateful to the Fortin Foundation, Indian Education for All, the Harry L. Willett Foundation, Yellowstone River Parks Association, and our BLM partners for helping make these experiences possible.

The Montana Audubon Center is excited to announce that registration is now open for our annual Native Plant Symposium – commemorating 10 years of celebrating Montana’s native plant heritage and empowering our community to steward resilient landscapes for the future.

In this season of thanks, we want to acknowledge a special group of volunteers at the Center: our summer camp volunteers. Many were once campers themselves, a fact that deeply enriches their commitment.

On January 24, Montana Audubon Center Director Emily Chilcoat and Conservation Science Coordinator Danella Stapley joined host Mike Penfold to talk about the Montana Audubon Center on Our Montana, a program on Community 7 Television, Billings’ local access channel.