(Photograph by
Eileen Solange Rodriguez, courtesy of National Audubon Society)
America’s conservation movement has been justifiably criticized for being too homogenous—predominately suburban, middle class, heterosexual, and white. The National Audubon Society, one of the world’s oldest and largest conservation organizations, is trying to change that. One of the ways it is becoming more diverse is by creating special Let’s Go Birding Together walks for the LGBTQ community. During this year’s Pride Week Audubon sponsored walks in seven cities across the United States (Seattle; Los Angeles; Denton, Nebraska; Columbus, Ohio; New York; Greenwich, Connecticut; and Audubon, Pennsylvania). This photo was taken in New York City’s Central Park where 35 people went birding on June 23. Creating these special birding walks is just one of the ways that Audubon is increasing the diversity of its membership and its programs.
To guide these efforts, in July the 112-year-old organization hired African-American environmental justice pioneer Deeohn Ferris to be its first vice president of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Read more stories by Eric Nee.