NVBA NEWS BLOG
Welcome to the blog for Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, a wealth of resources about northern Virginia birds, wildlife, habitat conservation and restoration, native plants, wildlife-friendly gardening, advocacy and more.
Is This Land Your Land?
Prince William Conservation Alliance held a community conversation on July 12, “Is This Land Your Land?” with keynote speaker, Dudley Edmondson, who presented information and ideas on why African Americans and other People of Color might not think so.
Photo: Rusty Moran
Prince William Conservation Alliance held a community conversation on July 12, “Is This Land Your Land?” with keynote speaker, Dudley Edmondson, who presented information and ideas on why African Americans and other People of Color might not think so.
Originally planned as an in-person event, the conversation was held as a live webinar with community organizations and citizens. The recording is here
Dudley Edmondson is the author of book, “Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places,” profiling African Americans in nontraditional vocations and avocations in the outdoors.
Program Sponsors included: Prince William Conservation Alliance with the NAACP Prince William, Todos Supermarket, Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Native Plant Society, Unity in the Community, Coalition to Protect Prince William, Prince William County Parks, Wetland Studies and the National Park Service Prince William Forest [National] Park.
Birding while Black: Understanding our Different Experiences
We think these resources from the National Audubon Society offer a helpful introduction not only for our ASNV board but for anyone who wants to better understand how the outdoors and specifically birding, is not equally safe and welcoming for everyone, especially for people of color.
Photo: Camilla Cerea
Resources from National Audubon
David J. Ringer, Chief Network Officer for the National Audubon Society, shared these resources with Audubon chapters around the county. We think they offer a helpful introduction not only for our ASNV board but for anyone who wants to better understand how the outdoors and specifically birding, is not equally safe and welcoming for everyone, especially for people of color.
Read, watch, and share these pieces about birding while Black:
What White Birders Can Learn From Amy Cooper About Their Own Racism by Hannah Waters
Corina Newsome and the Black Birders Movement from The New Yorker
Jason Ward’s essay on how the woods can be perilous for Black people
Journalist Brentin Mock’s interview on birding as a Black man
Buy copies of these books and have discussions with your chapter board:
Caroline Finney’s Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s How To Be an Antiracist
Dr. J Drew Lanham’s The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature