PAW's  “Birding for All" Project was first called the American Dipper Project. Our partners were the Colorado School of Mines EPICS Department and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind. 

 

The Project was named for the American Dipper, a small bird, who has the ability to walk and feed underwater in Colorado's icy mountain streams.  This hidden talent symbolizes the many talents of persons with disabilities that are sometimes overlooked.

 

The purpose of the "Dipper Project" was to develop inexpensive tactile outdoor exhibits that includes persons with visual impairments.

 

Steve Bouffard, a former U. S. Fish & Wildlife Refuge Manager, contacted PAW and suggested that we work together to create a new program called Birding for the Blind. PAW said yes to the idea.

 

In 2007,  PAW's Director was able to visit Cornell's Lab of Ornithology, called Sapsucker Woods, in upstate New York to discuss a partnership with them.  They are interested in developing education materials that can be used for persons of all ages and abilities. 

 

An article about the Birding for the Blind program was included in the American Birding Association's newsletter, Winging It. (Vol. 20, no 3, p. 19). The purpose of the article was to invite interested agencies, organizations and individuals to join in the development of the program. We received an excellent response from the article.

 

As the project grew, we changed the name once again, now to Birding for All. A good birder birds by ear as well as sight.  Birders who are blind as well as those who want to learn how to bird by ear both can participate in our program "Birding for All".

 

Students from both the Colorado School of Mines EPICS Department and the University of Colorado Denver, Department of Landscape Architecture have continued their work each semester.  Click on their section in this website.