Successful partnerships allow organizations to accomplish great things. Built on shared values, they are a journey of continuous collaboration — not a one-time event — that unlocks new opportunities for growth. This is the story of the partnership between Red-tail Land Conservancy (RLC) and the Robert Cooper Audubon Society (RCAS) in east central Indiana. From Red-tail’s founding by a group of citizens concerned about habitat loss and the lack of land preservation, RCAS’s membership has played a pivotal role in growing Red-tail’s mission.
With overlapping service areas and closely aligned missions, working together is a natural fit. RCAS provides birdwatching field trips for the community at Red-tail Nature Preserve and other public RLC properties. Equipped with spotting scopes and loaner binoculars, RCAS and RLC held their first youth birding hike in 2025, and helped families and curious children experience the wonder of spring migration firsthand.
The partnership’s roots go back nearly two decades. Over 15 years ago, RCAS helped raise funds to purchase a rare wetland fen adjacent to one of Red-tail’s early public preserves, and installed an osprey nesting platform. Adjacent to Prairie Creek Reservoir, a seemingly perfect home for the birds, it took over ten years for the osprey to find it. When a pair of osprey finally chose to nest there, the platform had begun to show signs of rot. RCAS members contacted the local electric company, whose crew volunteered their bucket truck to make the necessary structural repairs. That pair of osprey has since returned to successfully raise four clutches of young.
When Red-tail put out the call for volunteers to adopt a preserve and become site stewards, RCAS stepped up and adopted Dutro-Ernst Woods. This urban preserve features a restored prairie and woodland, and RCAS members visit regularly to report issues, collect trash, remove invasive plants, and enjoy birdwatching. Three years ago, they installed bluebird boxes and have been cleaning and monitoring them throughout each season ever since.
Keenly aware of declining bird populations, RCAS members work closely with Red-tail’s stewardship team to identify habitats where targeted projects can make the greatest impact. In 2025, RCAS proposed installing an American Kestrel nesting box at Reber Woods, a preserve with a mix of prairie and mature woodland that provides ideal kestrel habitat. RCAS raised the funds, built the box, and trained volunteers to monitor it. The project has since become a powerful tool for raising awareness about these remarkable raptors and the habitats they depend on.
The collaboration shows no signs of slowing down. RCAS has now raised funds to build a Chimney Swift tower at Dutro-Ernst Woods. Together, the two organizations are working on siting the tower and designing educational signage. Like every project before it, this latest effort will support bird populations while helping the community understand the vital connection between habitat conservation and wildlife.
Together, Red-tail and RCAS prove that conservation is the work of communities, not just organizations. Every bluebird box monitored, every child who spots their first warbler, and every osprey that returns to nest reflects what is possible when people show up for the places they love, and with more projects already taking shape, the best may still be ahead.
Red-tail Land Conservancy protects and restores land in East Central Indiana while engaging their community with nature and conservation.