In the late 1800s, birds were seen as opportunities for target practice. The shooters did not know the difference between a finch and a wren. Bird feathers were a fashion status symbol, and birds were hunted almost to extinction to supply fashion houses. Then the conservation-minded creators of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda came to the birds’ defense and started placing free bird cards into the boxes of their bicarbonate of soda. Each illustrated card identified a different species with the slogan “For the good of all, do not destroy the birds.”
Join the UT Arboretum education coordinator, Michelle Campanis, and naturalist/ author Stephen Lyn Bales via Zoom for their 50th First Thursday Nature Supper Club presentation, How Baking Soda Helped Save Our Birds. Due to a scheduling conflict, the First Thursday program for February will be held on the second Thursday, February 13, 7 p.m.
The UT Arboretum Society hosts the monthly Nature Supper Club presentations. The class is free, but you must register to receive the Zoom link and recording. Register here under Programs. Closed captions are available. Please contact Michelle at mcampani@utk.edu for any questions or registration issues.
Everyone who registers will be entered to win a copy of a book by Stephen Lyn Bales as we celebrate our 50th program!
To contact Stephen Lyn Bales or buy one of his UT Press books, email him at hellostephenlyn@gmail.com.
Melanie Staten is a public relations consultant with her husband, Vince.
