When you think of St. Louis, the first bird that comes to mind is probably a cardinal. The St. Louis metropolitan area is undeniably a “baseball town,” but the City of Clayton is now celebrating birds of all kinds by earning the distinction of “Missouri Bird City.”

Junior Lucinda Lloyd worked on a project with the Clayton Sustainability Advisory Committee to facilitate healthy local bird populations through the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council program with junior Jaren Han  and seniors Amelia Lewis  and Tierney Sweeney. In the MYAC program, students choose a city government committee to observe and assist during the school year.

“I chose the sustainability committee in [the] hope to have the opportunity to analyze data, and challenge myself in applying real-world solutions, and in seeing how experts execute [them],” Lloyd said.

Lloyd, Han, Lewis and Sweeney got directly involved with the Sustainability Committee’s agenda by helping to plan a World Migratory Bird Day event to assist Clayton in earning the “Missouri Bird City” title.

“Becoming a bird city became a goal for the sustainability committee in the hopes of not only bringing awareness to our city about the critical conditions cities place birds in, but also inspiring other cities to take action, promoting education and awareness in a topic so prevalent,” Lloyd said.

The students working with the Sustainability Committee organized the logistics for a World Migratory Bird Day event hosted at Oak Knoll Park, collaborated with the Clayton Communications team to raise awareness of their event, distributed flyers to grade schools and facilitated the event they planned.

Deborah Grossman, Chair of the Sustainability Committee, emphasized the importance of ongoing sustainability efforts, especially as new environmental issues arise.

“Clayton has a long history of supporting the environment even before the Sustainability Advisory Committee was established in the 1990s,” Grossman said. “Researchers have found that in the last fifty years, we’ve lost 2.9 billion or 29% of the North American birds, and Missouri’s bird populations are mirroring these alarming trends.”

Clayton has previously completed many actions in the categories required to earn the “Missouri Bird City” title, including projects addressing bird habitats, bird threats, education and engagement, and sustainability, but MYAC students’ latest project was the final step toward certification.

“Recognition as a ‘Bird City’ signals to residents, businesses, and visitors that Clayton values birds, sustainability, and invests in a greener future.  It also helps raise awareness about the threats birds face and provides actionable solutions for the public,” Grossman said.

Moving forward, the Clayton Sustainability Committee is working on several initiatives to encourage a more environmentally-friendly community. These projects include encouraging restaurants to reduce energy use and methane production, reducing emissions from Clayton-owned buildings and reducing transport emissions through the “No Idling” program.

Although the students working with the Sustainability Committee encountered some bureaucratic difficulties in organizing their event, they drew upon their passion for their project’s goals to see it through.

“[We] experienced the challenge of long-term planning and teamwork in being the busy students we are; however, this was overcome by a drive and motivation to succeed, inciting passion and excitement of our work,” Lloyd said.

The city will continue to be assisted by MYAC, who provide students with an opportunity to express their love for the environment – especially local birds.

“I have been a lifelong great horned owl fan!” Lloyd said.

This story was originally published on The Globe on May 28, 2026.