Birding is for everyone, especially in Philadelphia | Opinion

In November, I was walking in West Fairmount Park with a group of high schoolers as part of In Color Birding Club’s outreach to students. A 10th grader from a West Philly high school turned to me with a big grin and said: “Yo, why am I having fun watching birds?”

It’s a good question. Birds are amazing. They’re also remarkably easy to find if you know what you’re looking for. The question was deeper than that, though. It revealed that up until that moment, this young man didn’t realize that he had access to birding.

For the past two years, there has been a movement to bring more diverse voices into birding and bird-watching. This movement started in 2020, when a group of brilliant Black students and naturalists started the first Black Birders Week.

Since then, a number of new initiatives have found their roots in the movement. Seeing this story unfold, I decided last year to launch the In Color Birding Club here in Philadelphia. My goal is to create an intentional, safe, and joyful space for birders of color — to introduce people to the wonder of birding and the outside world. As part of that effort, founding members Nicole Seahorn, Angela Romanczuk, Jeff Kenney, and I have provided free educational bird walks to students at various Philadelphia schools.

As we walk and converse, students often say the same things: “Are there bears out here? Do raccoons live here? Will these birds chase me? Should I be afraid of a fox? Do these bugs bite?”

These are all common questions that we would expect from any student of any background when entering a new outdoor space. However, coming from students of color, it’s clear they are also trying to determine if this space is safe for them, and with good reason.

A 2017 study in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health found that people of color in low-income neighborhoods are less likely to perceive parks as places providing health benefits than others, and thus may avoid outdoor spaces altogether.

Our goal is to show kids the wonder of the outside world. If we are successful, students will start reacting to the activity of the birds by pointing, laughing, smiling, exhaling oohs and aahs, and the occasional “Yoooooo! That’s crazy!”

In October of last year, Jeff, Nicole, Angela, and I met four busloads of students from Paul Robeson High School and guided them onto the boardwalk at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge to watch a bald eagle hunt invasive snakehead fish. We might as well have been at a concert or sports event by the way the students reacted to the bird attempting to snatch fish out of the water. And this is it — this is the moment where kids find “bird joy” in the outdoors, maybe for the first time.

There are a number of studies that show positive health benefits when children are regularly and consistently exposed to nature in their communities. These benefits include improved physical health, cognitive function, motor skills, lower stress and anxiety, and more advanced social skills.

The best way to get more children outdoors is to start with the foundation: at home and at school.

Get out there with your kids. Learn with them. Take some time to Google facts about birds who make their home in the Philadelphia region. Download the Merlin or Audubon app on your phone to look up cool birds for free. Check out a bird backpack with a free bird guide, binoculars, and map from the Free Library of Philadelphia. Ask your kids what they think certain plants and animals are. Try and tease out the curiosity behind the discomfort and unfamiliarity they may have with outdoor spaces. In addition to In Color Birding Club, organizations like Fairmount Park Conservancy, We Walk PHL, and GirlTrek can help you get outdoors with like-minded folks.

“We can help to grow a new generation of BIPOC outdoors enthusiasts by creating entry points for students.”

Secondly, advocate for policies that increase funding for Philadelphia schools, specifically those that push money toward preserving green space in our low-income communities.

We can help to grow a new generation of BIPOC outdoor enthusiasts by creating entry points for students to connect with themselves and their communities through the study of the natural world. I can’t think of a better place to do it than Philadelphia.

Jason Hall has been birding in and around Philadelphia since 2001. He can be reached at @incolorbirdingclub or @thebirdingbeardsman on Instagram.