OUR STORY
Non-Profit Wildlife Organization
In the middle of September 2017, I was 11 years old when I rode down the Kichi Sibi (was known as the SJAM) path and saw my first roost of a purple martin. A few years later (when I was 13), I went on the same bike ride and was excited to see the purple martins, once again. However, there seemed to be a lot less birds that year, when the younger version of myself thought there would be more. It was not until the next day that I realized that purple martins were rapidly declining in America. I did some more research and found out that these birds were not doing well for themselves in our environment. The first thing that came to mind was wondering how I could help. At that time, there weren't as many purple martin houses, and there wasn't a way to directly support my community. It was not until the following year, in 2018, that the National Capital Commission offered the Champlain Park community to take care of a purple martin house. In other words, a way to directly help these birds live in the unfavourable conditions that we have given them. For the next three years, I would do some routine check-ups on the nest, making sure everything went to plan until now.
Why Make a Website?
Now I have built a website that will help others in the community get involved in helping these birds thrive. Purple martins, from my experience, are not a very well-known species of birds, especially in the younger generation. Hence, this website aims to inform our community with a modern-looking website with concise and precise information. From here, Ottawans can fund or participate with ease to a closer touching cause directly without looking much farther. Last but not least, I aim to get the community as one, so we can all add our efforts together to make a more significant difference in helping purple martins, a species that is very dear to me and should be for others as well.
Here are some other reasons why I decided to make a website: (what it will be able to accomplish)
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The closest thing to a purple martin community in Ottawa would be at the Ontario Purple Martin Association. They have undoubtedly already helped communities around Ontario a lot, but a well-known fact is that people are more likely to donate to a cause closer to them. Hence, donating to keep alive a bird you have never heard of across all of Ontario does not seem too appealing to many. Even at that, there is not an option to donate to the O.P.M.A.. Thus, with this website and movement, we can make supporting these birds more accessible than ever.
Make It More Personal
Ottawa is known for a lot of things, such as the parliament, the Kichi Sibi trail, etc. Why not make it known for its purple martin population? More tourists could, without a doubt, help many local businesses in Ottawa and drive our economy up.
Tourism
This movement would bring more Ottawans together after a challenging pandemic, where we most likely separated and lost contact with many people around us. Thus, we could all more closely knit our community with a similar interest.