Updates following CDC mask guidance

To the Seattle Audubon community:

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a year since we first closed the doors of The Nature Shop and sent staff and volunteers home. Our mission for birds has continued, and “adaptation” has been the name of the game. As pandemic conditions linger on, we’re still adapting, but the tide is starting to turn back towards reopening.

This month we announced that modified field trips will resume in June. We’re about to begin the gradual process of re-engaging volunteers to open The Nature Shop to in-person shopping sometime in August. Staff are coordinating schedules to return to a hybrid-remote office environment in the fall.

In light of the CDC’s loosening mask requirements for vaccinated people, many volunteers and community members are wondering and asking us, “Can I return to my normal Seattle Audubon activities and programs mask-free?”

We hear you. We are all eager to shed our masks and return to freely engaging with our friends and colleagues. The short answer for Seattle Audubon activities is, “Not yet.”

The news from the CDC is still hot off the presses. We need time to carefully consider the implications for our programming and ensure that we are implementing these latest recommendations in a thoughtful, safe, and equitable manner.

Some of our considerations are logistical. Others are ethical. They are all tough questions without clear answers. We expect to hear more in the coming days from local and state public health officials to help guide us in our decision-making. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we go forward together.

It’s an exciting time of change and renewal—echoed in the joy of spring migration! In my own backyard, a Wilson’s Warbler has been singing almost constantly today and I’m fairly certain that the pair of Spotted Towhees I’m seeing every day have a nest somewhere nearby. I look forward to the day when I might be treated to a glimpse of their fledglings, foraging alongside their parents. Hopefully a glimpse of our members’ and volunteers’ smiling faces won’t be far behind.