Celebrating Our Birdability Week 2025 Sponsors
Image description: A blue background with the Birdability Week 2025 logo that says You Belong Here in a linocut created by artist Jenny Gringer, with the words Birdability Week happens because of the generous support of our sponsors.
Each fall since 2020, Birdability Week has brought our community together to celebrate belonging, access, and joy in birding. This fifth annual Birdability Week marks a milestone: more than 25 sponsoring organizations, plus numerous individuals, have joined us this year to make this celebration possible. Our community, our impact, and our work continue to grow, and we are filled with deep gratitude for every partner who helps us make it happen.
Birdability’s mission to make birding and the outdoors accessible, inclusive, and welcoming for every body and every mind depends on community. Every workshop, panel, and accessible outing is the result of shared commitment from people and organizations who believe in this work. Each sponsor’s investment helps expand our reach, deepen our impact, and ensure that disabled birders are seen, expected, and welcomed.
Blue background with white text reading “Golden Eagle Sponsor” above the name National Audubon Society, and “Belted Kingfisher Sponsor” above the name Utah State University Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice.
We are honored to recognize our Golden Eagle Sponsor, the National Audubon Society, whose partnership continues to uplift this movement for accessibility across the birding world. Their commitment to the Birdability Map has helped ensure that more people everywhere can connect with nature in ways that work for them. We also celebrate our Belted Kingfisher Sponsor, the Utah State University Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice, whose work at the intersection of disability, access, and policy deeply aligns with Birdability’s mission to remove barriers and increase belonging outdoors.
Birdability Week is possible because of the incredible community of organizations and individuals who believe that birding is for every body and every mind. Each sponsor brings unique strengths to this shared effort. Some are long-established conservation leaders shaping the national landscape, others are local birding alliances, accessible technology innovators, or independent voices using their platforms to open the outdoors to everyone. Together, they reflect the deep and growing reach of the Birdability community.
At the national level, partners provide the foundation that helps Birdability expand our programs, strengthen research connections, and sustain our year-round work. Their leadership signals that access and inclusion are central to the future of birding, not optional extras.
Blue background with white text reading “Northern Cardinal Sponsors.” Logos included: Birdfy, Carolina Bird Club, Chirp Sounds, Nature Canada, National Aviary, Pennsylvania’s Americana Region / Reading & Berks County Visitor’s Bureau, and Vortex Optics.
Across regions, states, and local communities, our sponsors include Audubon chapters, bird alliances, and conservation groups whose roots in their home places ensure that Birdability’s mission resonates beyond the national conversation. And organizations such as Nature Canada, Pennsylvania’s Americana Region / Reading & Berks County Visitor’s Bureau, and Birding by Ear and Beyond show that accessibility is being embraced across sectors, from tourism and education to community-led birding programs. The addition of Birding by Ear and Beyond, based at the University of Michigan–Dearborn’s Environmental Interpretive Center, feels especially meaningful. Led by Donna Posont, one of the organizers of the Blind Birder Bird-a-Thon, this program teaches birding through listening and sensory awareness. It stands as a model of inclusion, demonstrating that birding can be experienced deeply without sight and that the outdoors truly belongs to everyone. Greenspring Birders is a vibrant birding community based in a Senior Living facility in Baltimore County, Maryland, known for their dedication to connecting people of all abilities and experience levels with the joy of birding, and inspired by Birdability. Their members regularly organize inclusive bird outings, share educational resources, and support conservation and accessibility efforts in their local parks and nature centers.
Blue background with white text reading “Eastern Bluebird Sponsors.” Logos included: Aiken Audubon, Bird Collective, Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Boulder County Audubon Society, Chicago Bird Alliance, Denver Audubon, Maine Audubon, and Wild Birds Unlimited of Colorado Springs.
Innovative sponsors like Birdfy, Chirp Sounds, and Vortex Optics bring technology and new tools that make birding experiences more accessible for people of all abilities. Educational partners like Environment for the Americas, Buteo Books, and National Aviary advance the shared goal of making environmental learning inclusive and representative of every kind of birder. And individual sponsors, including Ivan Phillipsen of Science of Birds and author Jennifer Ackerman, lend their voices and platforms to champion belonging in birding.
Blue background with white text reading “Ruby-crowned Kinglet Sponsors.” Logos included: Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Birding by Ear and Beyond, Buteo Books, DC Bird Alliance, East Cascades Bird Alliance, Environment for the Americas, Greenspring Birders, and Tucson Bird Alliance.
As we celebrate this year’s sponsors, we also recognize our Birability organizational sponsors for 2025 and 2026, whose year-round commitment sustains Birdability’s mission: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Wild Birds Unlimited, and Better With Birds. Their partnership helps us build the foundation for programs like the Birdability Captains network, the Birdability Outreach Program, and the ever-growing Birdability Map that connects birders everywhere to accessible birding opportunities.
Blue background with white text reading “2025 Organizational Sponsors.” Three logos appear in a row: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Wild Birds Unlimited, and Better With Birds.
Each year since Birdability Week began, more organizations have joined in. This steady growth shows what is possible when our community works together toward equity and belonging in the outdoors. None of this would be possible without you.
From all of us at Birdability, thank you for helping us make birding accessible, inclusive, and joyful for everybody and every mind. Find out more about Birdability Week and register to join us for virtual events or locate an accessible outing near you at https://www.birdability.org/birdability-week.
