Chicago Ornithological Society proudly presents Birds & Bytes, a virtual programming series about birding! Grab a beverage or a bite, listen in and share your own thoughts and questions. This week’s topic is Inclusivity in Birding, featuring presenters from Feminist Bird Club, National Audubon Society and Audubon Great Lakes. Facilitated by Stephanie Beilke with Audubon Great Lakes and Chicago Ornithological Society, Edward Warden, Chicago Ornithological Society and Kristin Murphy, Audubon Great Lakes.
Additional Supporting Partners of this series include Chicago Audubon Society & Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Join us as we learn about how birding is indeed for everyone, and how birding community members are providing opportunities and resources for birders of all abilities and backgrounds to participate in a hobby that can provide joy and comfort.
Please RSVP to receive the link to join the webinar: https://audubon.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5QscO2grT4pK1APNR-ybaEHY_EyvU1bHA
The Feminist Bird Club aims to be an inclusive birdwatching club that provides a safe opportunity to connect with the natural world while fundraising to protect the rights of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ folks, and women. We’ll hear from Frances Kane & Bridget Kiernan, co-founders of the Chicago chapter of the Feminist Bird Club and learn about how the FBC has been encouraging birders of all skill levels to appreciate birds in a welcoming and thoughtful space.
Oftentimes the burden of researching if a birding site or trip is accessible falls directly on the shoulders of differently abled individuals, which is time consuming and exhausting. Birdability, a partnership between Virginia Rose and the National Audubon Society seeks to address this directly. Virginia Rose will speak on her own experience that helped her launch and expand the Birdability program and GIS Fellow Elizabeth Todd will walk us through an online GIS-based platform that allows users to submit accessibility information about outdoor locations to an interactive webpage, consolidating accessibility information into a quick, and easy to use experience.
Birding can be done anywhere and oftentimes it starts from one’s window at home. Jenn Johnson, Wild Indigo Coordinator with Audubon Great Lakes has been encouraging people to get started birding by joining in Indoor Birding. We’ll learn about how to get started birding at home and sharing resources with others so they can become an indoor birder too.
Programs will be followed by a Q&A