Local Community Avitourism Education in Lima, Peru

7 July 2024

Cantagallo, Rímac, Lima, Perú

In BioEDest’s first ever rendition of their new course “Community Avitourism: Interpretations of the Birds”, children and their families from the neighborhood of Conibo-Shipibo of Cantagallo in Rimac, Lima were introduced to birding and ornithology through lecture and interactive activities. 

Birding is an activity that has historically excluded this community, and so the children of Conibo-Shipibo were very enthusiastic to learn more about the winged creatures they see every day in their neighborhood and how to connect with and identify them. What defines a bird, bird vision, nests and eggs, how to ID birds, and which birds are locally native were all objects of enthusiastic discussion.

The forty-one community participants also played memory games that helped them recognize and identify the urban bird species living in Lima. Additionally, the kids enjoyed playing with the idea of birds’ day-to-day behaviors and characteristics so they could relate to their winged neighbors. 

This event marked the beginning of an interest in birding and ornithology for dozens of excited children in Conibo-Shipibo and the start of a series of BioEDest programs with the hyperlocal community, bridging gaps in JDEI in birding and biodiversity education from the grassroots level in Lima, Peru.

Written by Lani Lin-Kissick of CUBs — lkl34@cornell.edu