For next steps, HMN and partners will focus on 2 integrative projects:

For HMN's Monitoring and Education programs, this is priority cross-generational project will formally provide opportunities for students of all ages to participate in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) activities associated with HMN's coordinated monitoring program. Outdoor science experiences can catalyze STEM and other learning. Yet, the lack of these opportunities is a growing concern of educators across our nation. HMN can help fill this gap in our youth's education as well as foster other hummingbird-inspired learning. With funding, a monitoring/education coordinator will be hired to lead this project and the associated monitoring and educations programs.

For the priority cross-cultural Research and Restoration project, HMN and partners would like to predict when and where gaps in the nectar landscapes will occur and then work with communities across the hemisphere to fill them with flowers and other resources needed for hummingbird conservation. Relationships built through the Latin American Intenship program is making this possible. With funding for a postdoctoral fellowship, Claudia Rodriguez, a Colombian who will complete her PhD from UNAM in December will lead the research as the director of the hummingbird Field Study Institute. With additional funding, Rocio Meneses, an HMN Intern from Puebla, Mexico and biologist working with Biologia Integral en Impacto Ambiental (BiiA), will lead restoration efforts that increase the capacity of BiiA to develop opportunities across Mexico to restore hummingbird habitats.

These projects will increase the impact of HMN’s conservation actions for hummingbirds and will engage human communities to help with and benefit from these actions.