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:
News Categories
Upcoming Field Trips
Field Trips / Events
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Fresh Pond, Cambridge (RESCHEDULED to October 3 due to wind and rain
Cambridge - Fresh Pond - TD Bank 235 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Cambridge, MA, United StatesThis walk has been rescheduled to October 3 due to wind and rain.
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Rock Meadow, Belmont (CANCELLED due to wind and rain)
Belmont - Rock Meadow 300 Mill St, Belmont, MA, United StatesCANCELLED due to wind and rain. Come join us for a walk at scenic Rock Meadow and Beaver Brook North, home of open fields, wetlands, ample woods and edge habitat, and public gardens which attract a wide variety of migrating song birds. Hiking is relatively easy, and should be a bit under two miles total [...]
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Fresh Pond, Cambridge – RESCHEDULED to October 3 due to wind and rain
Cambridge - Fresh Pond - TD Bank 235 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Cambridge, MA, United StatesRESCHEDULED to October 3 due to wind and rain.
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Arlington Reservoir (CANCELLED due to rain and wind)
Lexington - Arlington Reservoir 210 Lowell Street, Arlington, MA, United StatesCANCELLED due to wind and rain.
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Belle Isle Marsh Reservation CANCELLED due to wind and rain
Winthrop - Belle Isle March and Marine Ecology Park Banks Street, Winthrop, MA, United StatesCANCELLED due to wind and rain.