What does it mean to be part of a scientific community when the community doesn’t always look like you? What is possible when scientists are connected to the people they are meant to serve? Black Birders Week launched in 2020 to address these questions and celebrate birding as a lifelong journey that is enjoyed by Black cultures across the diaspora. As part of this year’s Black Birders Week, join us for a conversation on increasing representation in nature, birdwatching communities, scientific research, and scientific naming, and broadening access to information to better connect people to the science and collections that affect them. Carla Easter, the Broh-Kahn Weil Director of Education at the National Museum of Natural History, will moderate the conversation featuring herpetologist and co-founder of Black Birders Week Chelsea Connor, biologist and National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow Lynette Strickland, and Sloan Foundation Fellow and PhD candidate at Cornell University Amelia-Juliette Demery. Dara M. Wilson, Director of Education at ReThink Energy Florida and a Black Birders Week Advisory Group member, will open. This program is offered in collaboration with the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian National Zoo as part of a series of events for Black Birders Week 2022. Stay tuned for more info on where to find out how to get involved. This program will be presented virtually via Zoom Webinar. A link will be emailed to all registrants. |