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Nature Stewardship

ADK Black Birders

Birders with binoculars up on a grassy trail at the ADK Black Birders event

The Adirondack Diversity Initiative & John Brown Lives! along with the NYS Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, are excited to host our second annual Black Birders Week event for the Adirondack region.

Join us for a special day of birding at this beautiful birding hotspot, once the home and final resting place of abolitionist John Brown. Together, we will build community, deepen our connection to the land, and celebrate Black birders.

This event will feature guided bird walks, guest speakers, and activities for the whole family. Participants will also be able to tour the historic site and the Timbuctoo exhibit, highlighting African American roots in the Adirondacks.

What is Black Birders Week?

2026 theme: Flyways & Freedom: Advocacy, Action, and the Future

Black Birders Week is a bold and unapologetic reclamation of the Black community’s role in environmental spaces. It's a powerful celebration of our enduring connection to the earth, and a resounding call to dismantle the oppressive systems that have excluded us.

The founders of Black Birders Week

This year, we turn our gaze to the horizon and the paths that connect us all. We are not just standing our ground; we are tracing the ancient flyways of migration, movement, and resilience. This theme is about the journey toward liberation, the advocacy required to protect our shared environment, and the decisive action needed to build a future where everyone belongs. It is a continuation of a movement that centers Black joy, liberation, and collective power in the outdoors. This is a space where Black birders, scientists, and nature enthusiasts are not just participants but visionary leaders and changemakers, reshaping narratives and demanding equity in every arena.

Activities for everyone

This unique location offers birding experiences for people of all ages, abilities, and access needs. From stationary field viewing to more rugged trails, participants can choose options that best match their mobility, comfort, and safety needs.

This event is open to all with love in their hearts, kindness in their actions, and peace in their intentions.

Additionally, this event centers on uplifting and amplifying the voices and experiences of marginalized communities, in alignment with its national mission. We also recognize the essential role regional allies play in fostering a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for all participants.

John Brown Farm State Historic Site

John Brown was a dedicated abolitionist who devoted his life to ending enslavement, ultimately giving his life for the cause. Though best known for his 1859 raid on the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Brown’s connection to the Adirondacks played a crucial role in his activism. In 1849, inspired by abolitionist Gerrit Smith’s effort to provide land to African American farmers, Brown moved his family to North Elba in the Adirondacks. There, he purchased land, assisted Black settlers in building homes and farms, and worked to create a self-sufficient, free Black community known as “Timbukto.” After his execution for the Harpers Ferry raid, Brown was buried at his North Elba home, making the Adirondacks both a center of his abolitionist work and his final resting place.

115 John Brown Road, Lake Placid, NY 12946

Plan Your Visit

Come for the day or make it a weekend getaway!

What to Bring

  • Comfortable walking shoes/boots
  • Spare socks/shoes if yours get wet
  • Water bottle
  • Snacks
  • Layers, as the weather can be unpredictable
  • Sun protection
  • Bug repellent

Optional

  • Binoculars or scope
  • Camera
  • Identification books

Binoculars can be provided upon request. Please fill out the registration form to indicate if you will need them.

How to Get Here

  • John Brown Farm State Historic Site
  • 115 John Brown Road, Lake Placid, NY 12946

Where to Stay

Whether you are looking for traditional hotels, rustic resorts, or beautiful campgrounds, this region has it all! Here are a few suggestions for places to stay for our event:

Speakers and guest birders

  • Dr. J. Drew Lanham

    Dr. J. Drew Lanham

    Keynote speaker and guest birder, 2026

    About Dr. Lanham

    A native of Edgefield, South Carolina, J. Drew Lanham is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, which received the Reed Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Southern Book Prize, and was a finalist for the John Burroughs Medal. Most recently, he is the author of Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts. He is a birder, naturalist, and hunter-conservationist who has published essays and poetry in publications including Orion, Audubon, Flycatcher, and Wilderness, and in several anthologies, including The Colors of Nature, State of the Heart, Bartram’s Living Legacy, and Carolina Writers at Home. Lanham is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. An Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University, he and his family live in the Upstate of South Carolina, a soaring hawk’s downhill glide from the southern Appalachian escarpment that the Cherokee once called the Blue Wall.

  • Giselle Pemberton

    Guest birder, 2026

    About Giselle

    Giselle is an avid birder and guide for NYC Bird Alliance. She is also a volunteer leader for Outdoor Afro, an organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. Giselle hails from Trinidad, where her love of birds and nature began. She became interested in birding in NYC during a birding event at Prospect Park and now leads walks there and in various parks around NYC. She hosts outdoor events across New York, including camping, fishing, astronomy, and paddling (kayaking and canoeing), as a certified ACA Canoe instructor. Giselle loves to photograph birds, other wildlife, and nature, and you would often find her walking through the parks with her camera.

  • Stephan Roundtree, Jr., Esq

    Stephan Roundtree, Jr., Esq

    Vote Solar Deputy Program Director, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; guest birder, 2026

    About Stephan

    Stephan Roundtree Jr. serves as Deputy Program Director - Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions for Vote Solar, where he supports an expert team of advocates advancing a more fair and abundant solar energy economy. Prior to joining the Vote Solar team, Stephan worked as an advocate and community lawyer with WE ACT for Environmental Justice in Harlem, NYC. There, he fought for more inclusive solar and energy efficiency policies in Albany and at City Hall. Stephan also helped design a first-in-the-nation solarize campaign for a dense urban setting in Northern Manhattan and negotiated construction and local hiring contracts for the project based on community values and input.

    Originally from Dunstable, Massachusetts, Stephan holds a B.A. in History from Boston College, a J.D. from Northeastern School of Law, and a Master’s in Environmental Policy from the Vermont Law School. Stephan serves on the board of directors with NYSEIA, ACE NY, Alliance for a Green Economy, and on the Conservation Law Foundation’s Massachusetts advisory board. Stephan’s passion for energy justice is equaled only by his love of cycling and watching birds. He lives in Brooklyn with his spouse and their rambunctious cat and dog.

  • Tamara Jolly

    Tamara Jolly

    Community Initiatives Manager

    tjolly@adirondack.org
    518-891-6200 x102

    About Tamara

    Tamara serves as the Community Initiatives Manager for the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, where she brings together her expertise in biology, ecology, teaching, and DEI to foster more inclusive and resilient communities in the Adirondacks. She is a passionate advocate for making nature accessible and inclusive for everyone. Tamara has confronted the challenges of exclusion in outdoor spaces, fueling her mission to broaden access and foster a sense of belonging in nature for marginalized communities.

    Tamara fell in love with the Adirondacks after taking a sabbatical from teaching high school science in Baltimore City to attend the SUNY ESF Ranger School, where she was honored to graduate as valedictorian. When she is not working, you will find her outdoors birding, soaking up the arts, or adventuring with her husband and daughter on hiking trails, at campsites, and in everyday moments of joy. Recently relocated to Troy, NY, the family also treasures time on their property outside of Star Lake, NY, a place that continues to deepen her connection to the North Country she loves.

Read and listen before you come

From ADI’s calendar