Birdability Birders: Conversations about Birding with Access Challenges. Episode 1: Virginia Rose

Birdability and American Bird Conservancy (ABC) are co-hosting an online interview series aiming to promote accessibility, inclusion, and representation within the birding community.

Throughout the series, interviewees will discuss their experience with birding, what everyday life is like living with their disability or other health concern, and what they need from the birding community and birding locations for them to feel welcome, included, and able to access birding locations.

The first episode will feature Birdability founder Virginia Rose. Virginia fell off a horse at the age of 14 which resulted in a spinal cord injury. A manual wheelchair user ever since, she began birding 17 years ago and discovered her best self in nature. As a retired high school English teacher, she is passionate about bringing the same joy, empowerment and community she found in birding and nature to others who have mobility or other accessibility challenges, and founded Birdability to do so.

Closed captions and an American Sign Language interpreter will be provided. The series is free to attend, but registration is required. Register to attend the first episode here.

New interviews will be held live online on the first Tuesday of every month, 6-7.30pm Eastern, from October 2021 to March 2022. You can read more about the series, upcoming guests and access recorded interviews here.