A record number of people attended Le Nichoir’s Benefit Dinner and Auction “For the Birds” this year. More than 150 guests joined the Centre’s volunteers on April 24th at the beautiful Château Vaudreuil.  Guests participated in the live and silent auction, by bidding on art, antiques and exciting packages of all kinds. The generosity of the participants helped raise $25,000 for Le Nichoir’s operations. This includes $5,000 for a special appeal which was presented by Lynn Miller, co-founder of Le Nichoir.  This year’s special appeal funds will be used for the construction of an outdoor classroom for the Centre’s youth education programs.

The evening’s Guest of Honour was Nathalie Zinger, Regional Vice-President of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), Quebec Region. “Ms. Zinger came to offer NCC’s complete support for Le Nichoir and its important fundraising campaign for the new Wild Bird Conservation Centre. Zinger also congratulated Le Nichoir for its sustained efforts for avian conservation” explains Josée Bonneville, President of Le Nichoir. Bonneville also commented that “it is an honour to have this national non-profit organization as a partner”. The land on which the new Center will be located, the Clarke-Sydenham Nature Reserve, was given by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. (May 2010)