Do you have a young person in your life who would like to know more about shorebirds? Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet, written by Mandy Kern, Program Specialist at Kansas Wetlands Education Center (KWEC) and illustrator, Onalee Nicklin (Instagram: @onaleenicklin), is fun and beautiful storybook perfect for the kids in your life. This book follows Ava, an American Avocet (Recurvirostra Americana), as she makes her way from Laguna Madre, off the coast of Texas and Mexico, to Cheyenne Bottoms in the middle of Kansas. Ava’s exciting journey takes her to three WHSRN sites.
The story is not based on a single American Avocet, but what is known about this shorebird species. It was an easy choice to highlight this striking and elegant shorebird. A large shorebird with a unique silhouette and bright colors it is easy to see and identify, important factors when creating new shorebird enthusiasts.
Ava’s story is also a story about how to best conduct outreach and education in the midst of a pandemic. In a typical year, KWEC at the Cheyenne Bottoms WHSRN site might serve about 30,000 people with informal interpretation, onsite school programs, and school and community outreach. With the pandemic putting in-person activities on hold, KWEC staff looked for creative ways to engage people virtually, especially children. Mandy and Onalee created this book to bring Cheyenne Bottoms, shorebirds, and wildlife to young people across the region.
Ava’s exciting journey takes her to three WHSRN sites. Photo: illustration from Book page.
KWEC will launch the book on June 19th with a socially distanced outdoor event that will include readings of the book, family activities, and trips to find Avocets in-person. They will also conduct community outreach events with the library and through their virtual programs. The most important goal of the book is to teach and inspire students within 70 miles of Cheyenne Bottoms. The book’s release will also focus on this region, the same as KWEC’s education programs. KWEC will distribute pproximately 400 books to schools. A copy of the book will go to every Kindergarten to 6th-grade classroom in Barton County; within a 70-mile radius of Barton County every school library will be given a copy of the book.
The Kansas Wetlands Education Center is dedicated to educating the public about wetland communities, their importance, and the need for conservation and restoration, with emphasis on Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. KWEC accomplishes this through interactive exhibits and interpretation, education programs, outreach, and fostering partnerships with cooperating stakeholders. In 2019, KWEC, served 27,526 people, of that 8,074 were drop-in visitors, 468 onsite educational programs with 6,344 participants and 385 outreach programs with 10,269 participants. Visit https://wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu for more information.
Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet was made possible by funds from the Dorothy M. Morrison Foundation, a private foundation serving the Barton County, Kansas area. A portion of the books’ sales will go to support education programs at Kansas Wetlands Education Center.
Wetlands and other wildlife are also featured on Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet
Cover Photo: American Avocet roost illustration from the book Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet.
