BIRDING QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
BIRDS BY BIJS
They're Not Gonna Watch Themselves!
What is the nature-based wellness program?
The URBAN WILDLIFE CONNECTION COMBINES THE BENEFITS OF education and connection. Utilizing traditional BIRD WATCHING skills which enhances sensitivity to internal signals and sharpens our focus on the external world, it has proven to facilitate participant’s engagement.
Education about the environment and opportunities to share observations amongst the group creates a unique opportunity for your employees to enjoy nature, deepen their knowledge of their everyday environment, and access skills to destress.
It is a unique and effective addition to your employee enrichment program, please consider our Nature Based Wellness Program. Your staff will value the opportunity to learn more about a relevant topic, develop a skill that they can use and to connect in a fun, and non-threatening (engaging) environment with their co-workers.
What can we expect?
Your group will be facilitated by a birding and wildlife expert and professional group leader whose FACILITATION STYLE IS WARM, INVITING, AND ACTUALLY QUITE FUN. Participants will be given an overview of the environment (where the walk takes place) and the basics (easily acquired) of bird watching. Your group will be amazed by their ability to quiet their minds and to tune into previously unheard sounds and unseen avian friends. Spontaneous dialogue among participants will happen as they excitedly discover this world around them. Benny will add color and focus to the conversation.
But seriously, Bird Watching?
THIS MODERN TAKE ON A TIME HONORED TRADITION, BRINGS FORWARD ALL THE PROVEN BENEFITS OF BIRD WATCHING INCLUDING, STRESS RELIEF, IMPROVED CREATIVITY, CONNECTION TO NATURE, AND MANY HAVE INCORPORATED BIRDING INTO THEIR OWN MINDFULNESS PRACTICE.
What is the intersection of birding and mindfulness?
mind·ful·ness
Mindfulnes is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations
Bird watching is a great tool to awaken one’s senses, as you stalk, listen, watch, and feel for birds as we explore a habitat. Each experience promotes your ability to be present and attend to the once invisible details of nature. By focusing so acutely on the moment. The dynamics of birding fully engages you in the present moment as your focus is absorbed while you connect with outdoor spaces and the local wildlife that inhabit them.
The group will be encouraged to notice the environment and tune into the sights, sounds and smells around them. Armed with an orientation to size, shape, beak distinctions and typical calls, participants will use their tuned awareness to spot birds who have been hiding in plain sight.
What's the ideal group size?
WE ACCOMMODATE GROUPS BETWEEN 1-20 PEOPLE, DEPENDING ON WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE
HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHERE YOU GO?
DEPENDING ON WHAT PACKAGE SUITS YOUR NEEDS BEST WE CAN KEEP IT LOCAL BY THE OFFICE, HEAD TO A NEARBY GREENSPACE, OR EVEN DO A WEEKEND STYLE RETREAT AT A DESTINATION OF OUR CHOOSING.
Wanna hear our most common responses?
We invite you to step outside with Benny and experience your everyday world through a new lens. In a relatively short amount of time you will have skills to hear, see and relate to the wonders right outside your door.
“Wow! I had no idea this place was here!”
“This is so exciting!”
“I never expected to see so many different types of birds!”
“I can’t wait to check out the birds in my neighborhood”
These are some of the most common responses from participants after their first outing into local wildlife habitats with Benny.
Sepulveda Wildlife Reserve, Franklin Canyon Park, Malibu Lagoon, Echo Park, and Ballona Wetlands are just some of the many pockets of natural habitat in the greater LA Basin, which offers a refuge to wildlife, and which can offer you a refuge from your daily stress or weekend routine.
While you may have heard of some of these spots, when did you last have the opportunity to spend an hour destressing, really tuning in to the sights and sounds around you and connecting with your fellow co-workers?
