Forging Environmental Consciousness: Birdwatching Culture in Honduras
Forging Environmental Consciousness: Birdwatching Culture in Honduras
Birds have a way of capturing people’s attention, due to man’s innate wish for flight, their magic, color, sound as well as subtle and sublime manifestations of beauty. A recent study in Honduras aimed at understanding the Birder and the Birdwatcher and how both of these parties have forged environmental consciousness in the last decade by enjoying the outdoors and chasing life birds. Both share a common culture centered around ABA and eBird but their means of enjoying the hobby are quite different. Some hobbyists place everything on the reward of lists and lifers, and to others there is a connection with the inner child and a myriad of circumstances that connect the subconscious to manifestations of novel pro-environment behaviours, but as consciousness grows, apathy can also appear from feeling powerless to change the tide of environmental degradation.
The concept of the three R`s is introduced: Recompensa, Recuerdo y Reflexión (Reward, Recollection and Reflection) as the cyclic mechanism of motivation and discipline for the hobby, that intrinsically forges consciousness by feeding the need for more birds and ranking high on the eBird top 100. Cathartic events in the field related to birds and remembering events from the past connected with birds are explained. This talk is aimed at all levels of knowledge and is for anyone interested in education and understanding emerging environmental cultures in the third world.
Organizer
Professor Daniel Germer is a Biologist, currently teaching Zoology and Research related courses at UPNFM, Honduras´s Pedagogic University. Originally trained as a botanist, he stumbled upon birds in 2006 during his Senior year of College and since then has worked in the promotion of Birdwatching as a way of life, passing on the hobby to new enthusiasts and training future biologists on birds and field craft, he spent a decade almost permanently in the field getting to know Honduras’ avifauna, people and ecosystems. Professor Germer is the founding president of the Honduran Ornithological Association. He is also a founding member of the Professional Association of Honduran Biologists and currently holds a seat at its Court of Honor. His recent academic book, “Pedagogic Potential of Birdwatching in Honduras” delves into how birds are empowering the people involved in the hobby, thereby creating self taught naturalists with strong environmental consciences. Professor Germer also works as a freelance consultant and has recently published two children’s books on the topics of birds and cryptids in an effort to empower children to pursue their dreams and rescue folklore-related creatures from extinction. You can find him on instagram relating his birdwatching adventures as @danny_germer.