VMN CE Webinar: Exploring the impacts of bird feeding on birds and the people who feed them through participatory science

This webinar is part of the Virginia Master Naturalist Continuing Education Webinar Series for volunteers.

Description: Millions of people feed birds every day, engaging in what has been described as a large-scale "unplanned experiment". However, there is still much we do not understand about the impacts of this hobby on birds and the people who feed them. How do we balance the benefits to birds, such as bolstering declining populations and allowing for success in rapidly urbanizing areas, against the drawbacks, like increased disease and predation risk? How do we take into account the feelings of wellbeing and benefits of connecting with nature that people experience when making recommendations about when, where, and how people should feed birds? And finally, what influences people to make decisions about how they feed birds, and how might we craft recommendations that people are likely to follow? We'll discuss all of these questions as we dive into a research partnership between Project FeederWatch, Virginia Tech, the Ohio State University, and University of Georgia that explores both the human and avian sides of bird feeding. In addition, we'll discuss the role of participatory scientist members of Project FeederWatch in this research, and how we can work to make participatory science more inclusive.

Presenter: Kelley Langhans is an interdisciplinary conservation scientist, with a focus on urban ecology, ornithology, access to nature, justice, and human dimensions. She obtained her PhD from Stanford’s Department of Biology, where she studied conservation in human-impacted landscapes and how preserving ecosystems can benefit both people and biodiversity. Kelley is currently a postdoc in the Dayer Human Dimensions lab at Virginia Tech. There, she works in a cross-university interdisciplinary team using a participatory science project, Project FeederWatch, to better understand how bird feeding affects both bird health and human wellbeing. As part of that project, Kelley focuses on diversifying participation in Project FeederWatch and understanding links between bird feeding and human emotions and wellbeing.