It turns out New York City is for the birds, and that's a good thing.

The Berkeley Carroll Lower School recently welcomed guests from the Wild Bird Fund for a visit to the Athletic Center that had students wide-eyed, full of questions, and seeing their city in a whole new way. Because while New York might be known for its skyline and its subway, it is also home to over 355 bird species, some who live here year-round, and many more who use the city as a waystation along ancient migratory pathways that long predate every building in their way.

The Wild Bird Fund, a New York City nonprofit dedicated to rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, came to share not just the wonder of birds, but the responsibility we carry as their neighbors. Students learned about the many ways birds are harmed in urban environments, and the broader impact of human activity on species that call this region home. They also learned about the remarkable work the Wild Bird Fund does in response: healing injured birds, raising baby birds who have lost their parents, and helping everyday New Yorkers who want to do right by the wildlife they encounter.

The assembly took a deep dive into what makes a bird a bird, like hollow bones, specialized beaks and all those feathers! Then students discovered that birds are far more extraordinary up close when our guests brought out a live Racing Pigeon to the assembly for students to observe up close!

The visit was a reminder that the city itself is a living, breathing ecosystem, and our students are part of it. Learning to see it clearly, and to take responsibility for our place in it, is one of the most important lessons we can offer.

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