Founded in 2007, Celebrate Urban Birds (CUBs) is a year-round project developed and launched by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
CUBs strives to co-create bilingual inclusive, equity-based community science projects that serve communities that have been historically underrepresented or excluded from birding, conservation, and citizen science. The project seeks to promote better science through the equitable exchange of knowledge, increased access, centering missing voices and experiences, and by intentionally advocating for community ownership and leadership of scientific research. Together with participating communities the project has co-developed processes to co-design, pilot, and implement research and scientific programming while centering race and equity.
Our projects intentionally incorporate the arts, culture, counter-storytelling, music, dance, theatre, and other artistic expressions in all aspects of our work from setting priorities, co-creating goals, research, programming, co-developing materials, to sharing results. Elevating the arts and local culture is paramount to the CUBs approach.
CUBs starts by working side-by-side with local communities to co-create goals, research priorities and frameworks, accessible educational support materials, and communication channels that make sense to the communities involved. We center different ways of knowing and value community expertise. Taking time to address power and privilege, develop trust and transparency, and strengthen long-term collaborations is essential to our work. Celebrate Urban Birds works throughout South, Central, and North America in urban, suburban, and rural locations.
Our vision is to embrace community-led scientific research and programming and promote inclusive, accessible, and equitable birdwatching for all. We believe that birds have the power to connect us — as long as we intentionally value and center the power of equitable co-creation in birdwatching, monitoring, and conservation projects, and focus on culture through local leadership, creativity, and knowledge.
Resources
The CUBs Data study is a fun way to learn to identify your neighborhood birds while being a scientist!
Can’t name a bird that you’ve seen? CUBs has a guide for that—actually, they have four guides for that, depending on where you are: United States, Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Learn about how CUBs supports and inspires love for our feathered friends through their events throughout the Americas! And don’t forget to check out their mini-grants, which are a great opportunity for all interested communities.
