Early January is a great time for making resolutions, and for making your decisions about what you’d like to achieve over the coming year. Maybe there’s somewhere you’d like to go, or something you’d like to see. Or, maybe there’s a question you’d love to answer. There are still lots of things we don’t know about the birds around us – even the common ones, and quite often, the things that stand in the way of the answers are financial.
We can help with this! The end of January sees the deadline for applications for grants for amateur studies from the Club's Endowment Fund. Anyone (individual or group) can apply for these grants, as long as the proposed study is relevant to Scottish birds, and funding can cover costs of equipment, travel or accommodation, among other things. Recent projects to have received funding from the Endowment Fund include Little & Arctic Tern Ringing on Tiree, Water Rail geolocator research in the Tay Reedbeds, and a Rousay Skua project.
So, if you have always wanted to study something but could never afford the equipment or the travel expenses, this is your big chance.
You can find out more about the Fund and how to apply for it here. Or contact the Admin Officer.
Rousay Skua fieldwork, July 2020 © Helen Aiton