IDEA: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access. (The access part is important!)
This is what Birdability is all about, but we’re not alone! There are many other groups and organizations working on improving this in the birding community and the outdoors. They create safe spaces for people from often under-represented groups to enjoy nature and share the joys of birds.
‘A Good IDEA for Birding’ was the name of one of the panels held during Birdability Week 2021. We talked with representatives from some of these groups about what makes other birders, birding organizations and online birding communities more welcoming and inclusive for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and disabled birders. Check out their work and support them, and the other organizations and initiatives doing this work, below! It’s a Good IDEA for Birding!
If you’re part of a group working intentionally to support beginner birders, women birders, BIPOC birders, LGBTQIA+ birders, birders with disabilities and other health concerns, or another group of often overlooked and under-represented birders and would like to be included here, please contact us!
Anti-racist Collective of Avid Birders
BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin
Feminist Bird Club
Philly Queer Birders
Urban Bird Collective
More organizations and initiatives to support
These efforts are working specifically towards inclusion, diversity, equity and access in birding and the outdoors. This is the list of groups and resources shared in the chat during the panel.
Folks you can go birding with:
Flock Together: Hold bird outings and classes for People of Color in the US and the UK. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram @flocktogether.world
In Color Birding Club: Hold bird outings in Philadelphia, PA for BIPOC birders and their allies. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram @incolorbirdingclub
Latino Outdoors: Hold outdoor events for Latinx folks across the US. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram @latinooutdoors
Outdoor Afro: Hold outdoor events for Black folks across the US. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram at @outdoorafro
Outdoor Asian: Hold outdoor events for Asian and Pacific Islander folks across the US. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram at @outdoorasian
More groups to support:
Black AF in STEM: The creators of #BlackBirdersWeek. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram @blackafinstem
Amplify the Future: Run the Black and Latinx Scholarship Fund and Freedom Birders. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram @amplifythefuture and @freedombirders
Bird Names for Birds: Encouraging the American Ornithological Society to change common English bird names, especially those that are named after (often white, racist) people. Check out their website and follow them on Instagram @birdnames4birds
The Galbatross Project/Female Bird Day: Encouraging birders, conservation organizations and research scientists to pay more attention to female birds. Check out their website.
Always Be Birdin’ podcast: Amplifies the experiences of BIPOC birders. Check out their website and subscribe to their podcast, and follow them on Instagram @alwaysbebirdin
Specifically mentioned during the A Good IDEA for Birding panel was the episode Approximations: Avian Training and White Supremacy with Corina Newsome.
More resources mentioned during the panel
Learn more about Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work around Intersectionality (includes several of her pieces): https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination
More intersectionality resources: https://www.awis.org/intersectionality/
https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/intersectionality-lgbtqia-community
Article about an Autistic birder in Oregon, Fern Sibley, who you can also follow on Instagram @fernsibley
Hollaback! bystander intervention training