Donate for Big Half Year Participants HERE
2018 BIG HALF YEAR PARTICIPANT PAGES
Michael Hurben—Global Working Big Year
Sparky Stensaas—Bird Species Photographed
Ben Yokel—Selfies with Birds (World)
Sarah Beaster—Birds seen while Exercising
Heather-Marie Bloom– Birds seen at the Farm
Tom & Carol-Ann Bloom—Birds and wild critters of Smithville
Clinton Nienhaus—Birds, Odes, Butterflies on Nichols Lake Road
Lori Williams —Birds seen while walking the Dog
Dave Steininger—Birds seen while wearing wool socks
Kristina Dexter—Winged Creatures (Birds, Butterflies, Dragonflies, Insects, Bats?)
Jessica Dexter—Birds seen in Duluth City Parks (less-birded ones)
Anonymous—Nests found in Minnesota
Gene & Julie Ollila—Birds seen at their cabin in the Sax-Zim Bog
Ben Douglas—Birds in Minnesota State Parks
Rubin Stenseng—Birds in Trees (and maybe some orchids!)
CREATE YOUR OWN BIRDING GOALS FOR JANUARY-JUNE 2018
YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN BIG HALF YEAR! Pick a birding goal…any goal! It can be species you see just in your backyard…or in a local park…or in your county…or entire state (ANY STATE! Not just Minnesota). Be creative! Because it is not the birder with the biggest number that wins…All prizes will be given away as a drawing in early July 2018
WHEN: The birding period will be from January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018.
HOW: Just email Sparky with your birding goal. He will create a web page and link for you to share with your friends, family and donors.
COST: Free to Enter…But this is a fundraiser, so we ask each participant to raise at least $50 (collected after the June 30, 2018). You can get friends and family to sponsor you on a per-species basis, or lump sum. Or you can just donate $50 or more yourself.
RULES: No rules! You can do your birding ANYWHERE in the World! But it must be related to BIRDS in some way.
COMPILATION: We will have a picnic in the Duluth or Sax-Zim area in July where we will share stories and award prizes. Date TBD.
FAQ
Q: Do I have to do my Big Half Year in Sax-Zim Bog?
A: NO! You can do your bird-related Big Half Year anywhere in the world!
Q: I don’t like asking folks for pledges…Can I just donate $50 or more to participate?
A: Yes! Absolutely. This is a fundraiser for the Mission of Friends of Sax-Zim Bog to Support, Promote and Protect the Bog.
Q: How do I update folks on my progress?
A: Just email Sparky a paragraph or two on 1) The goal of your Big Half Year and 2) Your history with Sax-Zim Bog and why you think it is worth supporting FOSZB, and Sparky will create a web page for you on the www.saxzim.org site. He will then email you a link to share with your friends and family.
Q: Prizes? Is this a contest?
A: No, this is not a contest since nobody will likely have the same Big Half Year goal. But we will give out fun prizes at the compilation picnic in July. Last Big Half Year we gave away a nice pair of binoculars! (Drawing of the top ten fundraisers)
How about…
- birds seen in your backyard?
- birds seen in Minnesota?
- birds photographed in Sax-Zim?
- birds photographed in North America, Columbia, Brazil, Paraguay or Zimbabwe?
- birds seen only at sewage ponds?
- birds seen on Tuesdays?
- birds seen in the Boreal Forest?
- birds seen in the city limits of Minneapolis?
- birds seen while driving?
- birds seen out your window?
- birds species heard singing?
GET CREATIVE!
We will have a compilation picnic in July to share stories, eat good food and give away prizes.
How do we turn this into a fundraiser? You can solicit pledges per species, or lump sums, or just make a donation yourself! The more you raise, the more chances you’ll have to win our fabulous prizes (TBD). All participants must pledge or raise over $50.
Each participant will be given a page on our website to update folks on their progress in their personal Big Half Year for the Bog. Share stories, photos, videos!…and garner pledges.
EMAIL SPARKY YOUR BIG HALF YEAR GOAL AND GET STARTED! sparky@saxzim.org
Email Sparky a paragraph or two on 1) The goal of your Big Half Year and 2) Your history with Sax-Zim Bog and why you think it is worth supporting FOSZB, and Sparky will create a web page for you on the www.saxzim.org site. He will then email you a link to share with your friends and family. sparky@saxzim.org
We’ll have more details soon on our website and on Facebook.