Support young Black birders during our Binocular Drive!
Donate new or gently used binoculars, or donate funds to help buy new binoculars
This year for #BlackBirdersWeek2021, together we are supporting and celebrating budding birders in Madison. We partner with Bayview Foundation and Vera Court Neighborhood Center for our after-school and summer programming. These are outstanding community centers that support a diverse population of kids.
These kids are amazing explorers, filled with questions and always noticing new birds around their neighborhoods. Usually, we bring our suitcase of binoculars with us when we visit, but the centers would benefit from having their own so kids can use them whenever there's a new bird to see!
Our goal is to collect 20 - 30 pairs of new or gently used binoculars to donate to these community centers. If you have binoculars that need a new home, send them our way! Email education@madisonaudubon.org to schedule a dropoff or pick up—thank you!
You can also make a donation that will help us buy new pairs to gift. We will buy Raptor 8.5 x 32 binoculars from Vortex: their compact size is great for kids and Vortex will repair them for free—for forever! This is really important when working with kids! Each pair of binoculars is $130, so donations of any size will help us reach our goal.
Vortex has kindly offered to donate two pairs of binoculars - one for each center. Thank you, Vortex!
The environmental community has historically excluded Black, Indigenous, and People of Color from accessing the joys of nature— this needs to change. You can support young birders of color in our neighborhoods for a great start towards a brighter future.
Thanks to you and Vortex for your support and engagement!
