The Migratory Birds for People (MBP) programme is about 30 wetland visitor centres across Europe and West Africa in a network that follows the flight path of many migratory wetland birds species.
These centres are working together to share best practice and develop new approaches to delivering wetland messages to their visitors. We have an strategy plan MBP programme 1811 and the MBP Mission visual update 2018 that will help you understand what the programme aims to do, an MBP workplan 2020-21, and a summary action plan poster to which you can add your details.
The lead group for the project consists of the Dutch Staatsbosbeheer, WLI, and Wetlands International. We are also working with partners across Europe and Africa. Please see the contacts list for details.
Resources
We have designed a poster that you can tailor to your own centres – we can provide the design file for you to add your own logo, pictures and examples, for display at your centre. Contact Chris Rostron to arrange for us to send it to you.
We also have an updated map – thanks to Theo de Bruin and Edorta Unamuno for producing it!
Optics for Africa
Where possible, MBP visitor centres in Europe collect binoculars and telescopes and share them with members in West Africa.
First handover!
Adil Boulahia of WWT hands over 12 sets of binoculars to Ibrahim Hama of Wetlands International West Africa. WWT Slimbridge donated this first batch of optics in October 2019.
We invite any member centre to participate! Find out how.
Social media guidelines
Together with partners Eurosite we produced an introductory guide to using social media at wetland visitor centres and nature reserves. In 2021 we are adding a second volume of more advanced questions.
Educational Map
Discover the East Atlantic Flyway through games! The MBP flyway map is an educational resource developed by MBP members, a fabric map of 2 x 1.5 metres. You can download a free guidebook of activities, compiled by the network.
Annual meeting 2020
In 2020 we held our first virtual Annual Meeting. On 12 November we met, as usual, to review the past year, and plan for the next one, but we even managed some online birding!
The meeting report summarises the presentations from members and guests, and links to recordings and PowerPoints from the meeting.
Annual meeting 2019
Twenty MBP colleagues gathered at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, in October 2019 to review the past year and plan for the next. Here’s the summary, with some photos, or read the full meeting report here.
Annual meeting 2018
This meeting took place at the Maison du Lac de Grande Lieu, near Nantes, France from the 24th to the 27th of September 2018. To see the summary report of the meeting, please click here. For some feedback from some of the participants here’s what said they would be taking home to their wetlands centres and organisations.
Newsletter, films, coordination and meetings
Regular newsletters are produced by Roelof Heringa, one of the lead members of the project. They give updates on meetings, project development, and partner news: subscribe here. We also have a Facebook page. and Instagram page, please ‘like’ MBP if you are interested!
Finally, we have a promotional video created by a volunteer of ours, which you can find in Arabic, Basque, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Luxembourgish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. These are all on YouTube for use with your wetland conservation projects.
Map of the “Migratory Birds for People”- network
You may click on the map (2017) in order to enlarge it on screen.
See our new poster (left, version for Naturum Getterön, Sweden) that can be tailored to your own centres – we can provide the design file (publisher) for you to add your own logo, pictures and examples, for display at your centre. Just contact Chris Rostron to arrange for us to send it to you.
On the right is our updated map, thanks to Theo de Bruin and Edorta Unamuno for producing it.
MBP News
MBP Newsletter November 2018
Migratory Birds for People Newsletter November 2018. Click the story titles below to read more. Report of the Annual Meeting 2018 The eighth Annual Meeting of MBP was held at Bouaye, at the Maison du Lac de Grand Lieu, one of our most active wetland centres in the network. Situated in north west France,…
Migratory Birds on the Island Terschelling
In an area of the ‘Wadden sea’ (in the North of the Netherlands) live many different bird species. For example, on the Island Terschelling you can not only discover geese and plovers, but also the spoonbill, the red-tailed godwit and the red knot. When the summer days are over, these birds follow the East Atlantic migration…
Urdaibai migrant project, Basque Country
A group of Senegalese refugees visited the UBC with the organisation Ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak, Busturialdea. Amongst many things, they wanted to explore the way in which this Center and their country are connected by birds. What relationship do birds from Basque Country have with Senegal? Well, many of them spend the spring and summer here…
Birds and Schools 2018
To celebrate World Migratory Birds Day 2018, we are planning to run a group activity connecting wetland sites and local schools along the flyways, with a video conference call between them to share experiences of their visits. We did this last year in the MBP network (WLI East Atlantic) and you can see the results…
MBP Annual Meeting, Luxembourg, 8th to the 11th October 2017
The Migratory Birds for People network (part of WLI) is holding this year’s annual meeting in Luxembourg, kindly hosted by Biodiversum Remerschen. The event is free to MBP / WLI members, and will include: Sharing of good practice amongst partners from across Europe and Africa, including the Waddensee Secretariat Detailed visit to the newly built…
What WLI did in 2017
Migratory Birds Day, May 2017 schools and birds project. We facilitated 6 schools and wetland centres to take part, with a final skype conference call between three of the schools. WLI internship: Our intern, Patricio Guerrero from Chile, started in June, replacing our previous intern Abdallah Khazene. Chilean exchange partners came to work…
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