BBC’s new Code of Ethics and Conduct
If you are involved with the Brookline Bird Club, we know that you have a great love for and appreciation of birds and nature. The BBC is committed to providing programs in which all participants have a safe and welcoming space to explore their own personal connection to birds and nature.
In keeping with this commitment, the BBC board thought it was time to take a fresh look at our Code of Ethics and Conduct and Trip Leader Guidelines. The resulting updates emphasize the importance of respect for birds, the environment, and for each other.
The board has also formed a Committee on Community and Culture that will assist the club in working toward its mission of building a more diverse, more welcoming community and a culture of inclusion and respect. To learn more about our work or to get involved, please contact the committee at community@brooklinebirdclub.org.
Across Massachusetts and the country, the birding community is moving forward with a new focus on programming that is more accessible to all who want to enjoy nature and policy that promotes safety and inclusion. The BBC is excited to be part of that movement!
We recommend following resources to learn more and get involved. If you have meaningful resources you would like us to add to this list, please let us know!
Resources on safer bird watching:
Safety Tips For Better Birding
The Murmuration, a crowd-sourced document of eBird hotspots in Massachusetts, including information on safety concerns.
Further reading on inclusivity in birding and nature:
It’s Time to Build a Truly Inclusive Outdoors, Corina Newsome (Audubon Magazine, Summer 2020)
Birds are Here for Everyone: How Black Birders are Finding Community, Aliya Uteuova, (The Guardian, June 2021)
Murmuration is the Movement: Panelists discuss diversity in birding, Jon Stinchcomb (Port Clinton News Herald, May 2021)
Birding While Black, J. Drew Lanham (Literary Hub, September 2016)
How to be a Welcoming and Inclusive Birder, (Ray Brown’s Talkin’ Birds)
Creating Safe Spaces: Promoting more-inclusive experiences for all (National Wildlife Federation, August 2021)
Organizations to check out and consider supporting:
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Upcoming Field Trips
Wompatuck State Park, Hingham
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Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery 536 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA, United StatesBurrage Pond Wildlife Management Area (rescheduled from Saturday)
Hanson - Burrage Pond WMA Hawks Avenue, Hanson, MA, United StatesA 3 to 4 mile walk along level gravel paths along the woods edge, old cranberry bogs and reservoir. We will search for the locally breeding Sandhill Cranes and early migrants. The American Bittern is more often heard than seen and waterfowl should be plentiful.
Lost Pond, Brookline (Rescheduled from 4/20)
Brookline - Lost Pond Brookline, MA, United StatesA short, two mile loop over slightly hilly trails looking for resident woodland birds and early migrants, namely Hairy Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, kinglets, Yellow-rumped and Pine Warblers, and possibly Great Horned Owl. We will also check the grassy slopes next to the pond and recycling center for sparrows and other grassland birds.
Olmsted Park and Leverett Pond, Brookline
Boston - Olmsted Park - Daisy Field 1 Willow Pond Road, Boston, MA, United StatesThis 90-minute walk is suitable for beginning birders as well as those more experienced. Co-sponsored by the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance and the Emerald Necklace Bird Club.