FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 21, 2026
Contact: Audrey Schwartzberg, ANCA Communications Director, [email protected], 518.891.6200
Renowned Ornithologist and Author to Speak at Local Black Birders Week Events
Dr. J. Drew Lanham will present in Lake Placid and Tupper Lake on May 30
Tupper Lake, N.Y. — Bird enthusiasts from across the state are invited to gather in the Adirondacks for a special celebration of birds and the diverse birding community that admire them. In commemoration of National Black Birders Week, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI) and John Brown Lives! will host two local events that offer birding opportunities, workshops, presentations, family activities, and more. Renowned ornithologist, naturalist, and author Dr. J. Drew Lahham is the featured guest speaker for the events happening in Lake Placid and Tupper Lake, N.Y. on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
The Adirondack Black Birders Week events are open to all, with a focus on uplifting and highlighting historically marginalized experiences of Black birders. Offerings include a morning of guided bird walks, presentations, and family-friendly activities at John Brown Farm Historic Site in Lake Placid, N.Y. Morning activities will begin at 7:00 a.m. and conclude at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30. A special evening talk featuring Dr. Lanham will take place at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, N.Y. at 6:00 p.m. More information, including registration, can be found on the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) website at www.adirondack.org/events/black-birders-week-2026.
“We are deeply honored that Dr. Lanham has chosen to spend this important week of representation and reclamation with us in the Adirondacks,” said Tamara Jolly, ADI Community Initiatives Manager. “His participation in our local celebration feels especially meaningful, affirming both our region’s history and its promising future, made even more powerful by gathering at John Brown’s home and resting place.
“We warmly welcome Black birders and all members of our community to join us in our vision of centering joy, fostering a spirit of openness, and creating space where everyone feels they belong,” she said. “This event reflects a meaningful commitment to making our region more inclusive and welcoming for everyone.”
A native of Edgefield, S.C., 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. Lanham 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. His most recent book is Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts. An Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Master Teacher at Clemson University, and 2022 MacArthur Fellow, Dr. Lanham lives in the Upstate of South Carolina with his family.
In his 2016 book The Home Place, Lanham wrote, “The presence of more black birders, wildlife biologists, hunters, hikers and fisher-folk will say to others that we, too, appreciate the warble of a summer tanager, the incredible instincts of a whitetail buck, and the sound of wind in the tall pines.”
Established in 2020, Black Birders Week is a nationwide celebration of diversity in the outdoors, highlighting the contributions of Black birders and naturalists while promoting inclusivity in natural spaces. The 2026 event features activities in communities across the country from May 24 to 30.
“It’s a privilege and a joy to be a part of the world-building work that happens through Adirondack Black Birders,” said Anna Forsman, John Brown Lives! Arts and Cultural Programming Director. “We are honored to uplift Black birders, friends, allies, and the diverse birding community across the Adirondacks and New York State more broadly. The rich abolitionist history of our Adirondack landscape, combined with the abundant diversity of the natural world illuminates the meaningful and timeless synergy between the mission of John Brown Lives! and Adirondack Black Birders. We recognize birding as a form of diversity work rooted in both history and the natural world, and we encourage all who are interested to join us on May 30th.”
The morning activities at John Brown Farm are hosted by ADI and John Brown Lives! in partnership with the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Both morning and evening events, set for Saturday, May 30, 2026, are free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged, particularly for the evening presentation, as seats are limited. Doors for The Wild Center presentation open at 5:30 p.m. Dr. Lanham’s talk will take place from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. followed by a reception and book sale from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
More information, including registration, can be found on ANCA’s website at www.adirondack.org/events/black-birders-week-2026.
Existing at the intersection of environmental and transformational justice, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI) works to make the Adirondacks a welcoming and inclusive place for both residents and visitors while ensuring a vital and sustainable Adirondack Park for future generations. ADI is a program of ANCA, based in Saranac Lake, N.Y.
ANCA is a regional nonprofit and economic hub building shared prosperity across northern New York. Focused on small businesses, climate & energy, local food systems, and welcoming & belonging, ANCA works to ensure the long-term viability of the North Country, empowering individual wellbeing, economic strength, and regional stewardship. ANCA works with individuals, groups, and communities across 14 counties to navigate resources, cultivate networks, generate economic and community solutions, build shared capacity, and shape region-boosting narratives.
John Brown Lives! (JBL!) is a non-profit freedom education and human rights project that brings communities together using history, education, advocacy, and the arts to address critical issues of our time. The official NYS Friends Group of the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, JBL! strives for the Farm to be recognized, supported, and visited as a site of conscience and a place for teaching, reflection, discovery, and dialogue for Adirondack residents and visitors of all ages.
Provided: Two (2) photos
Photo 1 courtesy of Dr. J. Drew Lanham
Photo 2 courtesy of New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation: Giselle Pemberton of the New York City Bird Alliance, left, leads a bird walk at last year’s Black Birders Week event at John Brown Farm in Lake Placid, hosted by the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, John Brown Lives!, and New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
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