(by Anita Fernandez)
Black AF in STEM (the founders of Black Birders Week) states,
Black Birders Week is, and always will be, a bold and unapologetic reclamation of the Black community’s role in environmental spaces, a powerful celebration of our enduring connection to nature resounding call to dismantle the oppressive systems that have excluded us…We are not just standing our ground; we are tracing the ancient flyways of migration, movement, and resilience.
This year’s Black Birders Week theme is “Flyways & Freedom: Advocacy, Action, and the Future.” As a friend of NH Audubon, you know that our mission can only be realized through advocacy, action, and a community that commits to the future of our natural world. However, if you have not delved into the future of slavery, freedom, and perseverance in New Hampshire, you may not know the many individuals, both past and present, who are still using advocacy and action to bring about a better future that includes all of us.
NH Audubon and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire are partnering for an outing around Portsmouth on Saturday, May 30 from 9 am – 11:30 am. We will be traveling over mostly easy terrain, including pavement, mown grass, and asphalt. Co-led by BHTNH’s Nur Shoop and NH Audubon’s Education Director Lauren Betz, we will stroll through the gardens at the Governor John Langdon House, where we may see sparrows, finches, corvids, blackbirds and more. The group will move towards the water, finding catbirds and cliff swallows along streets, and gulls and terns over the water. Along the way we will stop at multiple points to discuss important historically significant locations such as the African Burying Ground on Chestnut Street, which has now been marked as the place of honor it deserves. Please visit here to register and secure your spot; this is a limited capacity event and one not to miss to experience our full communal history.
All proceeds will support the Black Heritage Trail of NH’s work.