Corina Newsome | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alma mater | Georgia Southern University Malone University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ornithology |
Corina Newsome is an American ornithologist, birder, science communicator, and graduate student at Georgia Southern University. In response to the racism faced by Black birder Christian Cooper in Central Park, Newsome co-organized Black Birders Week to celebrate Black birders.
Newsome grew up in Germantown, Philadelphia, [1] and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in zoo and wildlife biology from Malone University in 2015. [2] She was inspired to pursue a career in ornithology after learning about blue jays in her ornithology field class. [3] [4] Newsome is currently a graduate student at Georgia Southern University, focusing on avian conservation. [5]
Newsome worked as a zookeeper at the Nashville Zoo, where she specialised in outreach, environmental education, and training animals. [2] She has also worked at the Philadelphia Zoo and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. [2] Currently, Newsome's graduate research is focused on studying the roles of climate change and predation on MacGillivray's seaside sparrows. [6]
Newsome is also a writer for the magazine BBC Wildlife . [7]
Newsome developed the Pathway to Animal Care Careers program at the Nashville Zoo and served as the director of the Malone University Wildlife Careers Program to provide career exposure to high school students from low income backgrounds. [2]
Newsome runs a Twitter account and blog, using the name Hood Naturalist, to communicate science, advocate for environmental equality and promote diversity in biology and other scientific careers. [8] [9] The nickname "Hood Naturalist" reflects her upbringing in an urban environment, and is an attempt to counter the assumption that all naturalists grow up in rural or wilderness areas. [10] Her research and science outreach efforts have been featured in a number of podcasts and radio shows, such as NPR's Short Wave, [11] Ologies with Alie Ward , [12] and Science Friday , [13] and was cast in the 2017 environmental documentary film Behold the Earth . [14] [15]
In April 2019, Newsome was part of a team of women who criticised Discovery's response to science through song. [16] Their response was a lip-synced music video set to "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", and portrayed a diverse bunch of women doing science, demonstrating that science is for everyone. Later in April 2019, Newsome released a rap music video, "Anything For The Count", a remix of "Clout" by rapper Offset. The video demonstrated her love for birding and why it is important to study and protect birds. [17]
In 2020, to respond to a series of events including the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man who was shot while running nearby Newsome's field site in southern Georgia [18] and the racism faced by Black birder Christian Cooper in the Central Park birdwatching incident, [19] Newsome and Earyn McGee co-organised Black Birders Week, a weeklong series celebrating Black birders and Black nature enthusiasts on social media. [20] [21] Black Birders Week garnered worldwide media coverage, including features in National Geographic , [22] Scientific American , [23] and Forbes . [24] [25] Additionally, the inaugural Black Birders Week produced unique content in collaboration with the National Audubon Society and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. [26] [27]
Outside of her studies, Newsome also enjoys birding. [4] [31]
Gerald Malcolm Durrell, was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island of Jersey in 1959. He wrote approximately forty books, mainly about his life as an animal collector and enthusiast, the most famous being My Family and Other Animals (1956). Those memoirs of his family's years living in Greece were adapted into two television series and one television film. He was the youngest brother of novelist Lawrence Durrell.
The National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. The zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institution and does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to "provide engaging experiences with animals and create and share knowledge to save wildlife and habitats".
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. There are completely independent Audubon Societies in the United States, which were founded several years earlier such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Indiana Audubon Society, and Connecticut Audubon Society. The societies are named for 19th century naturalist John James Audubon.
The Singapore Zoo, formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens or Mandai Zoo, is a 28 hectares zoo located on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. Opened in 1973, the zoo was built at a cost of $9 million that was granted by the government of Singapore.
The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi River.
The Oakland Zoo is a zoo located in the Grass Valley neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States. Established on June 6, 1922, it is managed by the Conservation Society of California, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife both locally and globally. The zoo is home to more than 850 native and exotic animals and is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo is located in Bridgeland, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, just east of the city's downtown and adjacent to the Inglewood and East Village neighborhoods. It is accessible via Calgary's C-Train light rail system, by car via Memorial Drive, and by bicycle and footpath via the Bow River pathway. A large portion of the zoo is located on St. George's Island in the Bow River.
BirdNote is a nonprofit public media organization that aims to inspire people to care about the natural world and take steps to protect it. BirdNote produces BirdNote Daily, a daily radio program dedicated to sharing the joy and wonder of birds with listeners and promoting the conservation of birds and their habitats. BirdNote also produces longform podcasts Bring Birds Back and Threatened, and the Spanish language show, BirdNote en Español. BirdNote Daily episodes are two-minute vignettes that incorporate the sounds of birds with stories that illustrate their way of life. Shows can be heard on radio, online, and as a podcast.
The following is a chronological list of 148 television series and individual programmes in which Sir David Attenborough is credited as a writer, presenter, narrator, producer, or interviewee. In a career spanning eight decades, Attenborough's name has become synonymous with the natural history programmes produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.
Behold the Earth is a feature-length musical documentary film that inquires into America's estrangement from nature, built out of conversations with leading biologists and evangelical Christians, and directed by David Conover. The film made its debut at the 2017 DC Environmental Film Festival.
Carrie Murray Nature Center (CMNC) is operated by Baltimore City Recreation and Parks. CMNC offers environmental education programs for children, families, and adults as Baltimore City's only nature center. A native live animal collection, outdoor bird aviary, and indoor exhibits are features of the center, which is nestled in the expansive and historic Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, the largest urban forested park east of the Mississippi River.
Chehaw Park is a park and zoo located in Albany, Georgia. The park was originally opened as Chehaw State Park in 1937, and currently covers 800 acres (320 ha). The Wild Animal Park was designed by naturalist Jim Fowler of television's Wild Kingdom. Fowler is originally from Albany, Georgia. It was opened in 1997, and features boardwalks in the cypress swamps that take visitors through natural habitat exhibits.
Bannerghatta Biological Park, also known as the Bannerghatta Zoo, is a zoological garden located in the city of Bengaluru. It was initially a small zoo and picnic corner within Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) which was started in 1974. The bifurcation of the Biological Park and the National Park took place in 2002. The Bannerghatta Biological Park covers a total area of 731.88 hectares and includes a zoo, safari park, butterfly park and rescue centre. The Zoo Authority of Karnataka, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, are collaborating agencies. For the convenience of the general public, the Governing Council of Zoo Authority of Karnataka had decided to rename Bannerghatta Biological Park as 'Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park' (BBBP).
Jason Ward is an American naturalist, birder, and activist. He hosted the 2019 television documentary series Birds of North America, and is the co-founder and former CEO of "The BlackAFinSTEM Collective".
Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is a Ghanaian-born American activist and writer. She is a co-founder and former CEO of the Sadie Collective, as well as a co-founder and co-organizer of Black Birders Week.
Black Birders Week is a week-long series of online events to highlight Black nature enthusiasts and to increase the visibility of Black birders, who face unique challenges and dangers when they are engaged in outdoor activities. The event was created as a response to the Central Park birdwatching incident and police brutality against Black Americans. The inaugural event ran from May 31st May to 5th June, 2020. The week of events was organized by a group of STEM professionals and students known as the BlackAFinSTEM collective.
Earyn McGee is an American herpetologist and science communicator. She is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN Ambassador and a 2020 AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow. In response to the racism faced by Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper in the Central Park birdwatching incident, McGee co-organized Black Birders Week to celebrate Black birders.
BlackInChem is an organization which aims to highlight and increase the visibility of Black chemists. The organization was created as a response to Black Birders Week. The inaugural event ran from August 10 - 15, 2020.
Black In Neuro is a grassroots initiative that looks to connect, celebrate and amplify black voices working in neuroscience. In particular, Black in Neuro looked to increase visibility of black neuroscientists, who face challenges in navigating the majority white world of academia. The group was created as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the #BLACKandSTEM initiatives that were inspired worldwide. The inaugural event ran from July 27 – August 2, 2020, and they have hosted annual Black In Neuro Week events since.