This is bird note. The environmental movement has historically been very white. As a conservation

scientist for the National Wildlife Federation, Karina Newsom works with government agencies to

make sure that conservation plans will benefit black and brown people and the environmental health

of their communities. Here's an opportunity to like put in money to address the vulnerability

that black and brown communities in particular in low-wealth communities are facing. Karina says

that solving environmental problems facing people of color tends to go hand in hand with what's

best for the ecosystem. When the environmental concerns of marginalized communities are addressed,

birds come back to. There is one particular example in California where this community was

experiencing flooding. The infrastructure was not there to protect them. Once they finally got

the resources they needed to create the ecosystem that would protect the community,

the birds came back, the fly catchers like they were seeing birds they hadn't seen in so long

in that place because their environmental issue was addressed.

And so it really just showed how these are not different things. In my opinion one of the most

detrimental choices that conservation has made has been to separate people from nature.

Hear more about bridging the gap between yourself and the ecosystems where you live on the

Bring Birds Back Podcasts. Listen in your favorite podcast app or at birdnote.org. I'm Tanae J. Hamilton.