Episode 5: Ariana Cano and Bridget “Bird Diva” Butler

In this episode, Ariana Cano-Gomez from The Nature Conservancy of Vermont, talks with Bridget Butler, aka “Bird Diva.” Butler specializes in the art of “slow-birding”, or approaching birding in a way that prioritizes slowing down. They talk about how Butler’s slow-birding ideas touch on disability, race, and access to and love for Vermont’s wild places.

“Like something as simple as bathrooms: oh my gosh! I thought this place would be fine because it had a building and all of that. But it wasn’t: the doorways were too narrow, and the path from the parking to the main trail? There was like a big muddy dip! And I thought, ‘There’s no way that someone using a wheelchair could really navigate this.’ It just kind of blew my mind.”