Birders enjoy an accessible birding location in Austin, Texas. Virginia Rose appreciates a thoughtfully designed railing that provides a clear view along an accessible birding trail.

Zeiss optics is partnering with Birdability, a newly created non-profit organization focused on increasing access for birding opportunities and quality time in the outdoors. Birdability has the vision that birding is truly for everyone and their mission is to share the joy of birding with people who have disabilities, and to ensure that birding is accessible for all. Through education, outreach, and advocacy, Birdability works to ensure birding areas and the birding community are welcoming, inclusive, safe, and accessible for everyone.

In addition to financial support, Zeiss is providing a variety of optics. “Zeiss sees itself as a true community partner and believes in supporting causes championing the inclusiveness Birdability seeks to develop an awareness for,” said Rich Moncrief, Manager of New Business Development, Nature and Observation.

Sharing the Joy of Birding with People with Low Vision

Zeiss optics will support virtual programming that bring birds into the homes of many attendees who may have access challenges that prevent them from getting out and seeing these birds in person. Freya McGregor, Birdability Coordinator and Occupational Therapist expressed, “They will also enable sharing the joys of birding with even more people during in-person events, closer and in clearer focus, which is particularly important for people with low vision.”

Moncrief added, “We are sure this will allow more people with disabilities and other health concerns to enjoy birds and the wonders of nature; and in turn, do what they can to protect our planet.”

The Zeiss sponsorship will also support Birdability by creating resources that encourage birders to add birding locations to the Birdability Map, a crowd-sourced global map of accessible birding locations that outlines details of the accessibility features of these locations, which allows birders with accessibility challenges to find out vital access information about birding sites in advance.

About Birdability

Through education, outreach, and advocacy, Birdability works to ensure birding areas and the birding community are welcoming, inclusive, safe, and accessible for everyone. They focus on people with mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, chronic illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness, and people who are neurodivergent, deaf or hard of hearing, or who have other health concerns. In addition to current birders, Birdability strives to introduce birding to people with disabilities and other health concerns who are not yet birders, so they too can experience the joys of birding.

The Birding Wire adds: What a great vision and mission! And thanks to Zeiss for their continuing efforts to support birding, birds, and birders.

For more information about Birdablility, please visit www.Birdability.org

To review all the quality models of Zeiss binoculars and spotting scopes, see https://www.zeiss.com/consumer-products/int/nature-observation.html