Talking to Audubon leaders in our region about how to build a broader coalition for birds and the environment got me thinking about ASO’s Student Art Show.
Browse the wall-to-wall collection of artwork at the show, and you’ll find an incredible diversity of artistic styles, materials, and bird species depicted. Our student artists have immense talent, ambition, and creativity. Most of all, they impress me with their enthusiasm — for art and for birds. For bird-art.
When I see artwork by a young person, my first thought isn’t whether or not this person will pursue art as a profession when they grow up. I believe we’re enriched as a culture by fostering love for artwork and creativity among as many people as possible. Anyone can improve their life by making art. I learned watercolor painting in high school, neglected it for a while, then came back to it as an adult and found that it gave me a new way of connecting to landscapes that I loved, such as the Loess Hills. A quick cell phone picture, while nice to have, doesn’t give me the same level of connection as studying a scene and trying to capture it accurately and lovingly. My hope is that our ASO student artists find those moments of connection throughout their lives, and that we can play a small role in fostering their relationship with art.
Now, let’s turn our attention to birds. Do we have the same understanding of a lifelong relationship with birds as we do with art? I think the public perception of birding has changed in positive ways in my lifetime, but it’s still a work in progress. Birding is still too often seen as a realm of obsessives, and not as welcoming to newcomers as it ought to be. From talking to people who don’t consider themselves birders, I know there can be anxiety about asking questions, getting started with birding before knowing all your birds (which is impossible, by the way), and generally looking silly in front of more experienced people.
I would love for us to look at birding more like we look at art education — something worthwhile for every young person to try. Teach it as something that can enrich your life at any age. Put it aside for a while when you’re busy, then return to it full of energy.
After all, when we look at people’s everyday lives, we might find a long-lasting connection with birds, just labeled differently. While I’ve gone about my interest in birds in a pretty straightforward way (studying them in graduate school) I’ve realized there are many people out there who have things to teach me about birds. Hunters who can make effortless IDs of ducks flying overhead. Gardeners who have actually succeeded at attracting birds to their yard through planting native species. Heck, just about any Nebraskan has things to teach me about Sandhill Cranes, because so many have spent time watching them from blinds on the Platte River. Most of those folks wouldn’t call themselves “birders,” though, despite the in-depth knowledge of birds and the places they live.
If we can look at birding more like making art — something you can do without expert status, something that many people engage with in their daily lives at all ages — maybe we would move a little bit closer to recognizing our shared interests in protecting wildlife and the environment.
