April & May 2019

important to do that and finish, no matter what. I started in the business
school. That lasted all of one year, and after financial accounting I decided
it wasn’t for me… so I poked around trying out different things. I took an
environmental history class that got me interested, and so I went down
the rabbit hole of environmental economics, environmental ethics, biology,
chemistry, ecology etc. But it was a field ornithology class that really
blew my mind and opened my eyes to birds. That was 1995.
How much do you and Inga encourage this in your children, or do
you believe they should follow their own paths without any nudging?
We try and get them outside as much as possible. I hate the “when I was
your age” stories, but damn! When we were their age we were feral creatures!
Come home, do your homework (or not), run outside. All we had to
do was be home before dinner. They will follow their own paths, whether
we like it or not. We’re just trying to give them the tools necessary to make
the best decisions. That last sentence sounds really great. If only it were
easy… or, like, even possible. My dad always said, “Parenting is the hardest
job with the least experience, and no good manual.” Amen.
What’s your mission at CMBO? Connecting people to nature, and
stewarding the nature of today for the people of tomorrow. I had a real
hard time the first time I read that. It seemed very people-focused and
I felt it was lacking the intrinsic value of nature. But it quickly became
clear how right-on it is. Birds don’t vote; only people do. It’s beautiful in
its simplicity. If you can’t connect people to nature in Cape May, where
can you?! And if you connect people to nature, you’ll be able to take the
next step, and build community to steward the nature of today for the
generations to come.
Beginning in 1976, Pete Dunne began building what would become a
very successful model of connecting people to nature. He made birding
accessible, put Cape May on the global birding map, wrote wonderful stories
about birding in Cape May, and started several long-term research
projects that are the DNA of the organization today. When I came on
five years ago I saw some great opportunities to elevate the long-term
data we’ve been collecting. We took our 40-plus years of data on raptors,
waterbirds and songbirds and built a proper database where we could
collect new data and display it with the historic data online in real time.
Now we have online visitors from around the world checking in to see
what’s flying over Cape May, and talking about it all over the internet!
Ultimately, I want CMBO to reach its full potential as a bird observatory:
keeping our finger on the pulse of migration, training the conservation
leaders of tomorrow, and connecting more people than ever to the
wonders of nature. As Pete would say, we’re a tank of gas from 60 million
people. If we can’t do it, who can?!
What constitutes a birder? Do you even like the word? I love the
word, but I’m also okay with not using it. I mean, I love to ride my bike,
but I’m not a biker. I love to swim, but I’m not a swimmer. So I can see the
reluctance of some folks who do enjoy birding to not be defined by it. I’m
exit zero 61 april-may