We Fly Together!
May 20th, 2023 | Washington D.C., United States
Originating from an 8-year-old Urban Adventure Squad member asking why her friend in a wheelchair could not access birdwatching and outdoor opportunities in the same way that she could, on May 20th, 2023, people of all ages and all abilities attended Urban Adventure Squad’s “We Fly Together!” event at the National Arboretum.
The “We Fly Together!” event contributed to Urban Adventure Squad’s mission of #CityAsTheClassroom. The organization is dedicated to providing outdoor education for underserved children in the DC Metro area. They provide low-cost or free programs in partnership with local schools and communities that are designed to connect children to their local green spaces and infrastructure. For instance, children are guided in how to recognize aspects of inaccessibility of these areas, and what they can do to overcome these challenges. They have also been teaching children birding for many years prior to the event.
The organizers carefully and thoughtfully deliberated barriers to outdoor education from multiple perspectives: ability, language availability, and sensory experiences. They tried to ensure that everyone felt welcome and that their needs were considered and factored into the event. In addition to holding the event at a wheel-chair accessible outdoor space with accessible bathrooms, they provided participants with bird identification fact cards printed in Braille, fidget toys that made bird sounds, and Spanish-language materials. The event celebrated peoples’ differences and abilities and demonstrated that birding is for everyone!
The “We Fly Together!” event was a huge success! About 130 people participated, including Squad members and their families from all eight wards of the DC area, and many others who had no previous connection to Urban Adventure Squad. The event was split into three stations, Learn, Create, and Explore. The event was led by Randi Jones, a full-time educator at Urban Adventure Squad, who was joined by Director of Programming Christy Brock, Executive Director Elana Mintz, and Board member Catherine Crum, who all worked at tables and engaged visitors.
Participants learned different types of birds through an engaging game of Birding Bingo which included pictures and sounds of the birds. Participants learned to identify local birds such as the Mourning Dove, American Robin, and Downy Woodpecker. Then participants created their own field guides at the Create station using bird and Urban Adventure Squad stickers to take home and use afterward. They used these guides to sketch birds they saw, observe their behaviors, and reflect on their findings. In the Explore station, participants utilized their newly acquired birding knowledge by using binoculars to identify birds they saw at the National Arboretum. They recorded the data using Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird app.
Urban Adventure Squad hosted a fantastic inclusive and accessible event that embraced peoples’ differences and made birding possible for so many people in their community! Through this event, they brought together many people from their community into a conversation about their local environment. Now, participants can identify the birds they see every day, know the habitats and conditions they need, and think about what they can do to conserve these habitats.
Images courtesy of Urban Adventure Squad
Page by Caroline Pontaoe