The good Cornellians can do: Elaine Lea-Chou ’89

A little over ten years ago, Elaine Lea-Chou '89 noticed a request from a local non-profit on her Facebook feed. The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) was looking for a volunteer to help organize a bird art contest for local youth. As a mother of a middle- and a high-schooler, Elaine decided to step up.

“I knew very little about what the organization actually did, but jumped in headfirst, nevertheless,” she recalls. “I had no experience with either birds or conservation, but a love for both of them. I’m a biologist by training and have always loved the outdoors and nature. I thought, hey, here’s a fun project that’s a defined thing, and most likely won’t happen if no one steps up. It was something that me and my two daughters could do together, interact with kids, and have fun.”

Elaine found she loved educating the public about bird science and conservation, and restoring and creating habitats for local birds. Over the past decade she’s transitioned from a casual volunteer into a full-fledged SFBBO board member. She’s helped educate the public about birds, hosted SFBBO’s “Birdy Hour” speaker series, cleared habitat, and even banded wild birds at the Coyote Creek field station in Milpitas.

“Our catch and release program uses mist nets to safely collect birds to allow us to collect data on them (age, health, species, location captured, actively breeding, etc.),” Elaine says. “The data is used to help inform local advocacy groups and the public about climate shift trends and changes in avian populations and species’ health, habitat, range, and behavior. Holding a baby hummingbird or juvenile downy woodpecker in your hands (to release) is a pretty amazing experience!!!”

Cornellians around the globe are sharing how they do good in communities big and small. Share your own story.