Santa Cruz, Calif.
– A $50,000 donation from Redwood City-based software giant
Oracle Corp. is for the birds.
Santa Cruz, Calif. – A $50,000 donation from Redwood City-based software giant Oracle Corp. is for the birds.
The company has again donated money to the Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in an effort to continue an outreach program to schools and community groups on birds of prey and endangered species. Oracle has donated $200,000 to the group so far.
“Educating the public about protection of endangered species is an important part of our mission,” said Glenn Stewart, the research group’s program director.
Stewart, who has worked with the group since its founding in 1975, gives most of the outreach presentations, usually accompanied by his 4-year-old tame peregrine falcon, Sophie.
“The school visits are a great way to increase students appreciation for birds of prey and for nature in general and to stimulate their interest in science and conservation biology,” Stewart said.
Additionally, the Oracle grant will help the group recruit and train interns, coordinate volunteers and maintain its Web site.
Insecticides and environmental toxins such as DDT nearly killed off peregrine falcons 30 years ago. The birds were taken off federal endangered species lists in August 1999, but they remain protected in California.
– The Associated Press
