Discovery Speaker Series: Birding for Every Body with Birdability

Tune in on February 1st @ 6:30pm as we explore how birding is for everybody and every body! Virginia Rose, founder and board president of the nonprofit, Birdability, will share their vision and how you can be aware of accessibility challenges and get involved.

Virginia (she/her) fell off a horse at the age of 14 which resulted in a spinal cord injury. A wheelchair user ever since, she began birding 17 years ago and discovered her best self in nature. She leads accessible bird outings for Travis Audubon and at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival each year. As a retired high school English teacher, she is passionate about bringing the same joy, empowerment and community she found in birding and nature to others who have mobility challenges.

Birdability has three spokes to their work that feed into each other like a rolling wheel. They work to improve the physical accessibility of birding locations. They empower welcoming and inclusive birding communities. And introduce people with access challenges to birding. That means those with mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, chronic illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness, and those who are neurodivergent, deaf or hard of hearing, or have other health concerns. If you are interested in creating these welcoming spaces you’ll want to tune in and see what Birdability is looking forward to as they continue to grow!