If you’re into birding, maybe you’ve heard of the “spark bird.” It’s the very first bird that ignites a person’s lifelong curiosity about them. Whether it’s a hummingbird or a great big sandhill crane, the spark bird has the power to bring all birds into focus — you learn about one bird, and suddenly you’re seeing them everywhere.
“Birds in My Neighborhood creates opportunities for urban public school children to get out into their neighborhoods and parks and see their spark bird,” says Jessica Fong, education director for Openlands, the Chicago-based regional conservation nonprofit that founded the program. “The goal is to use birds as little ambassadors to open children’s eyes to all of nature.”
Since 2013, Birds in My Neighborhood® has introduced more than 12,000 elementary students in over 300 Chicago public schools to the joys of bird-watching. The program focuses primarily on schools on the south and west sides of the city. According to the Climate and Economic Justice Tool created by President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, many of these communities are heavily burdened by environmental challenges, such as air pollution, toxic water and wastewater, and the localized effects of climate change. “Most of Openlands’ work is in those areas, and we’re very intentional about bringing Birds in My Neighborhood to these schools,” says Fong, “because we know that those children are impacted by lack of access to the lakefront, to green spaces and, really, just to nature.”
What makes birds such incredible ambassadors for nature in urban settings? They’re everywhere. “As a city kid, I’m most likely never going to see a coyote or a fox or a deer or any of the classic Midwestern animals in my neighborhood,” Fong explains, “but if you step outside your door, you will see a pigeon, a sparrow or some other common city bird.”
[Appeared in Finding Nature News. Photo by Jorge Garcia, courtesy of Openlands.]
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