This is Bird Note. When Lauren Farr was choosing what to study for her PhD, she wanted to take on a challenge.

I told my advisor, I want to be out in the field. I picture myself like wildlife biologists

tromping through the forest. Like, I'm ready for it. Put me out there.

And she found that challenge in studying the red-concated woodpecker and endangered species.

Lauren climbs ladders to reach the woodpeckers nest high in pine trees,

so she can put identifying color bands on the nestling's legs.

Going up these ladders, 40-50 feet up in the air, and then so I tell people, if you dare to just

look out, it is so beautiful just seeing the forest from that high.

But as a black woman working as a field biologist in the rural south,

Lauren says she faces higher levels of risk than her white colleagues.

People of color when we're outdoors, we're more likely to get questioned, we're more likely to get

the cops called on us. Lauren co-founded an organization called Field Inclusive

that raises awareness about how to promote the safety of people from marginalized backgrounds

in the field. What we're calling social field safety, so interacting with people, you know,

you might have it run in with a landowner or anything like that, that is not really talked about

as much. It is going to be important for us to start at the beginning, to talk about the

history of why certain groups of people don't feel welcome in the outdoors, so really bringing

that awareness to the forefront. This week is Black Birders Week. To learn how to participate,

follow the hashtag BlackBirdersWeek on social media and visit birdno.org.

I'm Joni Sprinklin.