Community Speaker Series: Growing, Centering, and Connecting to Environmental Justice

Demarus Tevuk at Day Break Star Indian Cultural Center | Photo by Carol Roll

by Hanae Bettencourt, Community Engagement Manager

As we emerge from the challenges of the past few years, we recognize the deep need for meaningful social connections and community. Prior to 2020, Birds Connect Seattle would host regular meetings of and for the community, under the name of “member meetings,” “nature nights,” or “program meetings.” Many would gather, enjoy a speaker on a bird- or nature-related subject, say hello to some familiar faces, and head home. However, we realized that these meetings were more than just educational sessions; they were opportunities to build connections within our community.

When the idea of bringing back these quarterly meetings was proposed, I knew that we couldn’t just repeat what was done before. Our public surveys continue to surface comments that we should “focus on the birds.” This tells us that Birds Connect Seattle needs to communicate more clearly and more often about how our mission for birds aligns with environmental justice principles—cities where people AND birds can thrive.

Community and social connection seem to be something we both crave and need. With the recent return of our newly named Community Speaker Series, we have chosen to focus these presentations on the themes of Grow, Center, and Connect. In doing so, we believe we can foster a more inclusive and impactful conservation movement that more clearly illustrates the interconnectedness of avian conservation and environmental justice and will shape the future of urban conservation.

• GROW – Increase membership and program participation, particularly with people who have been historically excluded from conservation work and expand our understanding of urban conservation.
• CENTER – Hear from diverse perspectives in the world of environmentalism and conservation.
• CONNECT – Come together around our shared appreciation for birds and nature and help one another.

This past March, we kicked off with a visit from Demarus Tevuk, who spoke on Indigenous Perspectives of Sustainability. Attendees were encouraged to reflect on their own relationship to nature and how they might challenge their own understanding of science. Our
second event welcomed Taha Ebrahimi, who took us on a lovely tour of the diverse street trees of Seattle, encouraging us to think
about how these urban trees reflect our humanity.

We are beyond excited for our September event, where we will welcome Alison Mariella Désir, athlete, activist, television host, and author of Running While Black. We hope that you, our members, will be part of our ongoing journey to grow, center, and connect with birds and one another.

Your donations allow Birds Connect Seattle to continue to grow, center, and connect our local birding and conservation community. Thank you for your generous support. 

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