Intended Audience: This program is designed for adults.

Program Description: Join Trish O’Kane, author of Birding to Change the World: A Memoir, and Connie O’Connor, Director of Applied Learning at Cincinnati Nature Center, as they discuss the importance of connecting with others to protect what we love. In this age of isolation, what if the most radical form of activism is to find common ground? How might this save our environment and, ultimately, ourselves?

O’Kane’s book is a memoir which intertwines birding with community collective action as she describes how a group of diverse nature enthusiasts successfully protected a park slated for development in a lower-income neighborhood. Her story is one of strangers becoming friends while engaging at a civic level for a shared conservation goal.

O’Kane and O’Connor will consider lessons learned from this experience and invite the audience to explore ideas for building more trust and goodwill within their own communities. Join us for an empowering and inspiring evening and learn why Cincinnati Nature Center promotes Conservation Civics, a relationship-based approach to protect our environment and conserve our natural resources.

About the Instructors: Trish O'Kane, the author of Birding to Change the World: A Memoir, is a writer and a senior lecturer in environmental justice at the University of Vermont, where avians are her teaching assistants. A former human rights journalist in Central America and the Deep South, she has written for the New York Times, Time, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in Burlington, Vermont, with her writer-husband, their dog, and three chickens.

Connie O’Connor is Director of Applied Learning at Cincinnati Nature Center, where she is entering her third decade on staff. With an MS in Environmental Education and a BS in Environmental Studies, Connie has dedicated her career to working at nature centers ranging from Cape Cod to Minnesota before coming to Cincinnati. She was integral to the development of Cincinnati Nature Center’s Nature educational philosophy, Nature Playscape, Nature Preschool, and Land Stewardship Plan before launching the Civic Environmentalism initiative. Connie helps nature enthusiasts protect what they love and believes that “to protect nature, we must prioritize better relationships."

What to Expect: This program is completely indoors.

Where to Meet: Registered participants will meet in the auditorium of the Visitor Center at our Rowe Woods location. (4949 Tealtown Road, Milford, OH 45150)

Cost: Ticket fees include daily admission