Birding Backpack Project

The Birding Backpack project began with a desire on the part of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin to spread a love and appreciation of birds and birding to children and families in Madison and Milwaukee. We aim to reduce barriers for trying a new hobby (like expensive gear) by placing these backpacks in accessible locations for folks who've been historically excluded from enjoying the natural world.

The BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin was able to raise $3,090 during the Natural Resource Foundation’s 2023 Great Wisconsin Birdathon, with 50% supporting high-priority bird conservation projects in Wisconsin and 50% funding our birding backpack project and other initiatives. What we raised through the Birdathon, along with the generous support and donation of binoculars from our partners at Nocs Provisions, allowed us to make this project a reality.

Each Birding Backpack “kit” includes:

1 pair of Nocs binoculars for adults
1 pair of Nocs binoculars for kids
1 Sibley’s East Field Guide
1 backpack made possible by Fontana Sports
Bird Guide for Kids courtesy of Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance (one in Spanish and one in English)
Field Guide for Kids courtesy of Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance (one in Spanish and one in English)
A "Birding Backpack Guide" created by the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin that has detailed information on parks near each center, travel time by car, bus, bike or on foot to each park, and what birds may be seen in each season

Binoculars donated by Nocs Provisions, Bird and Field Guides for Kids donated by Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, and backpacks made possible with a generous discount from Fontana Sports in Madison, WI. Thank you! *Photo by Jeff Galligan.*

Initial recipients of a birding backpack in the Madison area:

Vera Court Neighborhood Center
Bayview Foundation, Inc.
Goodman Community Center
Elver Park Neighborhood Center
East Madison Community Center
Meadowood Neighborhood Center
Kennedy Heights Community Center
Neighborhood House Community Center
Lussier Community Education Center
Forest Edge Elementary School

Initial recipients of a birding backpack in the Milwaukee area:

Neighborhood House of Milwaukee
Family Engagement Collaborative Sites:

Northwest Catholic School
St. Margaret Mary Catholic School
St. Catherine

Your Guide to Birding Around Madison Community Centers

Modeled after the guide written by the Feminist Bird Club’s Madison chapter, the BIPOC Birding Club customized a guide summarizing:

Local parks and birding hot spots around each community center and school
Transportation options for getting from each location to your neighborhood parks
An accessibility summary of each park
An overview of what birds could be found, including recommended habitats and notable birds to watch for in different seasons.

Read a digital copy of the Madison Neighborhood Birding Guide (or download the .docx for use with screen readers)

Resources

Gynarva and Zaine standing hand-in-hand in a local park, equipped with binoculars and a backpack loaded with birding information. *Photo by Jeff Galligan.*

Tutorial: How to Use Your Nocs Binoculars
An excellent birding app to help identify birds by song or their appearance: Merlin Bird ID for Apple and Android.
Another birding app for budding Bird Nerds and citizen scientists: eBird for Apple and Android shows you what other birders in the area are seeing. Contribute data and help to advance research and conservation worldwide!
More birding backpacks can be checked out from Madison Public Library locations, courtesy of the Madison Chapter of the Feminist Bird Club !
Press Release announcing the project from the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin
For questions about this project, please contact Jeff Galligan or the club’s general email address.

Acknowledgements

The BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin would like to express our deepest appreciation to the Feminist Bird Club – Madison Chapter and the Madison Public Library for donating content to this guide. We appreciate the generous spirit of sharing and support they have shown us and this effort.

A special thanks to Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance (formerly Madison Audubon) for always supporting the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, for collaborating with us, highlighting our work, and for donating copies of their Beginners Birding and Field Guides for these birding backpacks.

The BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin could not have undertaken this journey without our great friends at Nocs Provisions. Their unwavering support of this club, amplification of our mission, and the generous donation of their wonderful binoculars for this project has been an amazing partnership for us and for that we are truly grateful.

This endeavor would not have been possible without the Natural Resource Foundation of Wisconsin. The BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin humbly thanks them for their support of our work, for providing grant funding and for having the Great Wisconsin Birdathon, which allowed us to raise the necessary funds for this work while also contributing to the Bird Protection Fund.

The BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin would like to thank Fontana Sports for the wonderful Osprey backpacks used in these kits. Their willingness to provide a significant discount to support our mission is truly appreciated.

Thank you to our models, Gynarva and Zaine Monroe, for volunteering your time and helping us create a new future of what birding can look like.