The City of Williamsport has something to chirp about this spring.

City Council recently approved a resolution to adopt initiatives to be recognized as a Pennsylvania Audubon Council Pennsylvania “Bird Town.”

Valerie Fessler, director of community and economic development, introduced the resolution.

Bird Town works in conjunction with municipalities and like-minded organizations to promote communities’ conservation actions to create healthy, more sustainable environments for birds, wildlife, and people, Fessler said.

The action requires no general fund expense.

Bruce Buckle, a city resident and president of the Lycoming Audubon Society, thanked council for their interest in the initiative.

He explained how the Pennsylvania Bird Town is an independent organization that is supported by the Pennsylvania Audubon Council. The council is a network of all the Audubon chapters in the state.

“Lycoming Audubon Society is one of the healthiest chapters in the network,” Buckle said.

The advantage of this to the city is it gives it statewide recognition as a municipality that is committed to conservation-minded actions within the municipality.

“They don’t have to all be city-led,” he said. “They can also be Audubon activities or school district activities.”

It promotes a conservation ethic … a healthier environment within the boundaries of the municipality, he said.

Currently, there are 73 Bird Towns” in Pennsylvania, with 57 of them in the southeast region, 10 in the Pittsburgh area, five in the Harrisburg area, and one in Wellsboro.

As Williamsport becomes a Bird Town it is a significant expansion of the program in this region, Buckle observed.

Buckle passed around pamphlets for the council to look at.

“Our Audubon chapter already does a lot of what Bird Town promotes,” Buckle said.

This includes education, conservation, and community, he said.

As an example, the Audubon society has been partnering with Carl Bower Jr. at Way’s Garden for the last several years.

The society has spent close to $1,500 there to purchase native plants, shrubs and trees and committed a lot of volunteer work to install them at the garden.

There is also signage at the garden that identifies the native plants that are planted at the garden.

The brochure emphasized the importance of native plants to wildlife.

The society also has frequent bird walks on the Susquehanna Riverwalk, Buckle said.

“We hold event there to celebrate Earth Day every year,” he said.

Now that resolution is passed, the next step will be to establish a bird town committee with municipal representation and an offer to community to be a part of the membership.

Ideally, the committee could identify actions the city or community could take to advance the goals of habitat for people and wildlife.

As an example, the proposed pollinator garden at Youngs Woods Park would be a potential project.

The city would finalize the agreement as a bird town. The ongoing requirement is to submit an annual report that chronicles the actions the city took to promote conservation within the community. Members can gain certification levels in colors of green, bronze, silver, and gold.

There are no requirements to meet those certification levels and no timeframe to reach those.

Look for more on this initiative as songbirds appear and Earth Day draws near.