Chimney-side Monitoring Is A-Go
As many of you have no doubt heard, the Manitoba Government has further loosened restrictions for indoor and outdoor gatherings, businesses, etc. Upon hearing this news, the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative has decided to bring back the Chimney-side Monitoring program. Volunteers can now either monitor local chimneys as per the normal protocol (with social distancing guidelines still being followed) or continue to do the Stay-at-home Monitoring protocol.
Monitoring will continue to take place on each Wednesday until June 24th, with rain dates for the directly following Thursdays if needed. Please see the monitoring protocol and reporting forms on the Resources and Links page on the MCSI website.
If you decide to go out for chimney-side monitoring we ask that you follow the ABCD’s of Chimney Swift monitoring in the time of COVID-19:
Abide by current Covid-19 Public Health directives.
Be aware of how your presence may impact other people. Do your best to stay off sidewalks to allow for physical distancing and respect the privacy of residents who may be isolating.
Choose the best monitoring approach to engage Chimney Swifts in 2020. Keep your personal safety, and the safety of those around you, at the forefront.
Drive with due diligence. Travel prudently and try to stay in your neighbourhood, if possible.
Please also continue to monitor in household groups, or groups of two or less people. If you plan on monitoring a popular site (such as Assiniboine School) please send a quick email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com so that we can keep track of how many people will be watching on a particular day.
A big thank you for all of our volunteers taking this evolving situation in stride. This has been a challenging year so far and we are grateful for the help and support of our volunteers!
- MCSI Steering Committee
