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Jason Ward Is Spreading The Joy Of Birding Far And Wide
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The birding community tends toward the older, white, and wealthier demographic. But that hasn’t stopped the young, Black, and gifted Jason Ward from keeping his eyes to the sky.
Ward hosts the YouTube series, "Birds of North America" and is an apprentice with the Atlanta Audubon Society. He’s spreading his passion for birding far and wide — and particularly to communities of color.
On Second Thought host Virginia Prescott speaks with Jason Ward.
As he says in the introduction to each episode of his YouTube series, Ward became hooked on birding when he saw a peregrine falcon devouring a pigeon outside his window as a teenager living in a homeless shelter. It took him some time to get into birding full-time, but now he leads tours for the Audubon society and is engaging HBCU's in the Southeast to "color the conservation conversation."
Ward is vocal about the ways that birding while Black is categorically different than it is for the majority white community. It's something he's always subconsciously aware of, even when doing something as simple as pulling out his pair of binoculars.
"It’s a shiny black object I’m pulling out of my backpack," he says. "In the wrong environment, that may be mistaken for some kind of suspicious activity."
Still, Ward says it’s important to speak about these issues. "I can stop being a birder temporarily … but I cannot stop being black," he says. "It factors into every decision that I make."
Through his work, Ward hopes to share the joy of birding with communities far and wide. "Binoculars are a key to a world that has already existed, but now you have the ability to see it in a different light," he says.
You can find full episodes of Birds of North America on YouTube and hear more from Jason on Twitter.
Get in touch with us.
Twitter: @OSTTalk
Facebook: OnSecondThought
Email: OnSecondThought@gpb.org
Phone: 404-500-9457
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