Skip to Main Content
School of Public Health

​
  • Admissions
  • Research
  • Education
  • Practice
​
Search
  • Newsroom
    • School News
    • SPH This Week Newsletter
    • SPH in the Media
    • SPH This Year Magazine
    • News Categories
    • Contact Us
  • Research
    • Centers and Groups
  • Academic Departments
    • Biostatistics
    • Community Health Sciences
    • Environmental Health
    • Epidemiology
    • Global Health
    • Health Law, Policy & Management
  • Education
    • Degrees & Programs
    • Public Health Writing
    • Workforce Development Training Centers
    • Partnerships
    • Apply Now
  • Admissions
    • Applying to BUSPH
    • Request Information
    • Degrees and Programs
    • Why Study at BUSPH?
    • Tuition and Funding
    • SPH by the Numbers
    • Events and Campus Visits
    • Admissions Team
    • Student Ambassadors
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Events
    • Public Health Conversations
    • Full Events Calendar
    • Alumni and Friends Events
    • Commencement Ceremony
    • SPH Awards
  • Practice
    • Activist Lab
  • Careers & Practicum
    • For Students
    • For Employers
    • For Faculty & Staff
    • For Alumni
    • Graduate Employment & Practicum Data
  • Public Health Post
    • Public Health Post Fellowship
  • About
    • SPH at a Glance
    • Advisory Committees
    • Strategy Map
    • Senior Leadership
    • Accreditation
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
    • Directory
    • Contact SPH
  • Support SPH
    • Big Ideas: Strategic Directions
    • Faculty Research and Development
    • Future of Public Health Fund
    • Generation Health
    • idea hub
    • Public Health Conversations
    • Public Health Post
    • Student Scholarship
    • How to Give
    • Contact Development and Alumni Relations
  • Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni
  • Directory
Read More News
NALOXONE nasal spray from the emergency bag, contain medication used in recovery of Opioid drugs overdose. Nasal medications drugs from overdose kit.
health disparities

Majority of Medicaid Managed Care Plans Cover Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug Naloxone

Attendees of SPH and MAPC's heat health symposium view a poster on identifying and engaging heat-vulnerable communities.
All News

SPH Partners with MAPC to Host Symposium on Heat Health

Celebrating Urban Birds.

October 20, 2016
Twitter Facebook

Following up on a bird-themed afternoon with kids at the Blackstone Community Center summer camp, Amparo “Chary” Ortiz spent October 18 and 19 at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Workshop for Community Advocates and Grassroots Leaders.

Ortiz is the financial administrator for the biostatistics department and a member of the board of directors for the Blackstone Community Center.

The workshop and the summer event were both part of Celebrate Urban Birds, a Cornell Lab of Ornithology program using bird watching as a jumping-off point to introduce kids in low-income communities to science and conservation.

“It’s about more than birds,” Ortiz says. “It’s important for our children to be aware of their surroundings, that they are mindful of the environment they live in.”

Urban Birds 4The event at Blackstone was supported by a mini-grant from Celebrate Urban Birds, and run by Ortiz and Professor of Biostatistics Anita DeStefano on July 21.

A group of 35 children, ranging in age from 5 to 9 years old, participated in the Blackstone Community Center summer camp, with Ortiz, DeStefano, and volunteers including MPH student Jackson Mesick.

The kids learned to identify six common bird species in Boston, making bird-themed cards for seniors at nearby Franklin Square House, planting sunflower seeds, and observing birds in the neighborhood. Their observations of birds in Boston was added to existing Celebrate Urban Birds data.

“This event provided a very hands-on and engaging STEM activity,” DeStefano says. “Hopefully we can build on this single event and eventually lead some of these children to continue in the path as scientist, statistician, or naturalist.”

At the October workshop at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ortiz was supported by a full scholarship to gain training in teaching citizen science, engaging communities in conservation through the arts, bird watching, and greening programs.

“This workshop has given me the tools to help people understand the importance” of a program like this, she says. The Cornell Lab offers curricula and teaching materials for Celebrate Urban Birds programs, along with skills Ortiz hopes will help not only continue the program at Blackstone, but merge community efforts like this with sustainability initiatives at Boston University and other institutions in the city.

—Michelle Samuels

Explore Related Topics:

  • community outreach
  • Share this story

Share

Celebrating Urban Birds

  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Twitter

More about SPH

Sign up for our newsletter

Get the latest from Boston University School of Public Health

Subscribe

Also See

  • About
  • Newsroom
  • Contact
  • Support SPH

Resources

  • Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni
  • Directory
  • Boston University School of Public Health
  • 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
  • © 2021 Trustees of Boston University
  • DMCA
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
© Boston University. All rights reserved. www.bu.edu
Boston University Masterplate
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.