Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, watching public webcams, or by viewing smart bird feeder cameras.
Ranger Rick, originally Ranger Rick's Nature Magazine, is a children's nature magazine that is published by the United States National Wildlife Federation. The magazine offers feature articles and activities for children ages 8 and up in order to spark their interest in the outdoors and encourage them to become more actively involved in protecting the environment. The magazine's primary intention is to instill a passion for nature and promote activity outdoors. NWF also publishes two companion magazines, Ranger Rick Jr., which is aimed at ages 4–8, and Ranger Rick Cub, which is aimed at kids 0–4 years old.
Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors, typically during school camping trips. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges and outdoor activities such as hiking, climbing, canoeing, ropes courses and group games. Outdoor education draws upon the philosophy, theory, and practices of experiential education and environmental education.
The National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA) was formed in 1997 as an American-based non-profit program which each year presents awards honoring the best in outdoor writing and publishing. It is housed at Idaho State University and chaired by Ron Watters. It is sponsored by the National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation, Idaho State University and the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education. As of 2021, awards have been presented in 13 categories, although not all categories are awarded in any given year.
Richard Kearton FZS, FRPS and Cherry Kearton, brothers, were a pair of British naturalists and some of the world's earliest wildlife photographers. They developed innovative methods to photograph animals in the wild and, in 1895, published the first natural history book to be entirely illustrated by wild photographs. Richard was made a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and Royal Photographic Society. Cherry later became a wildlife and news filmmaker, and friend to Theodore Roosevelt. The Royal Geographical Society created the Cherry Kearton Medal and Award in his honour.
Rattlesnake National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area located 4 miles north of Missoula, Montana in the Rattlesnake Creek drainage area. It is administered by the Lolo National Forest and is adjacent to the Rattlesnake Wilderness. Both the recreation area and the wilderness area were established by the U.S. Congress on October 19, 1980.
David Tipling is a professional wildlife photographer. He has won the documentary award for the European Nature Photographer of the Year for his work on emperor penguins.
John Fielder was an American landscape photographer, nature writer, the publisher of over 40 books, and a conservationist. He was nationally known for his landscape photography, scenic calendars and for his many coffee table books and travel guides—including Colorado's best-selling Colorado 1870–2000, in which he matched the same scenes of classic photographs taken in the 19th century by photographer William Henry Jackson.
Outdoor Canada is Canada's national fishing and hunting magazine, in print since 1972. Its content includes how-to articles, buyer's guides, profiles, travelogues, reports, and analyses.
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center is located between State College and Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, in the Stone Valley Recreation Area. This is part of the Penn State Experimental Forest. The center operates on 7,000 acres (28 km2) and contains 72-acre (290,000 m2), freshwater Lake Perez. Each year more than 100,000 people visit the center, which is open daily from February 1 to December 15. The Environmental Center contains an amphitheater; classrooms; Welcome Center, Pennsylvania Nature Book and Gift Shop; herb and flower gardens; picnic areas; raptor center; and other displays and exhibits.
Carr Clifton is a local American landscape, nature and wilderness photographer. A native Californian living in the northern Sierra Nevada near Taylorsville, California, Carr began photographing and color printing professionally in 1979 after seeking advice and inspiration from his mentor and neighbor, pioneering 20th century master landscape and conservation photographer Philip Hyde. Credits include a US Postal Service stamp of Acadia National Park and numerous exhibit format books. Clifton has spent thirty-five years exploring and documenting endangered, wild landscapes, creating an immense body of work with a large format 4x5 film camera, and more recently a digital camera.
John C. Robinson is an American biologist, environmental advocate, and author. He studied biology at Iowa State University and devoted the rest of his career to becoming a professional ornithologist. He worked for the United States Department of Agriculture (1979-1988) and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (1988-) and served on the board of directors for the American Birding Association. He is the recipient of Audubon's Toyota TogetherGreen fellowship and the author of several ornithology reference books, including Common Birds of Mount Diablo and the North American Bird Reference Book.
Joseph Drew Lanham is an American author, poet, and wildlife biologist who was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022 for his work "combining conservation science with personal, historical, and cultural narratives of nature."
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.
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 31 to June 5, 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.
Mamie Parker is an American biologist, conservationist, executive coach, facilitator, and inspirational speaker from Wilmot, Arkansas. She holds a PhD in limnology from the University of Wisconsin and spent 30 years with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in a variety of positions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. Highly regarded as a pioneer in the field, she was the first Black woman to serve as the assistant director of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation and the first African American to lead a USFWS regional office when she served as the Northeast Service Regional Director, covering 13 northeastern states. She also served as USFWS Chief of Staff and Chief of Fisheries. She received the US government's highest honor for career service employees for her accomplishments, the Presidential Rank Meritorious Service Award, and in 2005 was the first African American inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame. Since retiring from USFWS, she has worked as an executive leadership coach, inspirational speaker, and environmental consultant with Ma Parker and Associates and EcoLogix Group, Inc. She is on the board of directors of the National Wildlife Federation, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, The Nature Conservancy-Virginia Chapter, American University School of Public Affairs, Ducks Unlimited, and the Student Conservation Association. Throughout her career she has worked to advance diversity and opportunities for minority students in conservation and fisheries careers; in 2016 she was awarded the Emmeline Moore Prize from the American Fisheries Society for these efforts.
Kevin Krautgartner is a German architectural and landscape photographer, best known for his aerial images of urban and large ground spaces highlighting the aesthetic value of colors, lines and geometric patterns in them. His oeuvre has been awarded at international contests, and featured in mainstream media.
James Edwards Mills is an African American freelance journalist, author, outdoor guide, and independent media producer who specializes in telling stories about outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, and sustainable living.
Charles G. Post is an American ecologist, documentary filmmaker, photographer and podcaster. He is best known for his photography work and as producer and film director of Sky Migrations, Return of the Desert Bighorn and Golden. His photography and writing work have appeared on National Geographic, Outside, Yeti and Sierra Magazine. Post is co-founder and Vice President of The Nature Project (501c3), a non-profit organization with the focus on helping underserved youth.
