MISSION

Awe is why people bird. Awe is the reward when you hear the grunts of an American bittern, or what you feel when you find your first owl or Cerulean Warbler. Awe makes nature more relevant to people’s lives. An experience of awe can be the start of change, curiosity, connection, and a deepening concern about the environment.

Research shows that awe shifts attention away from the self as the focus to a feeling of being part of a larger whole. Awe pulls us away from personal needs and desires to focus on the bigger picture.  

Festivals, by design, draw audiences seeking experiences of collective awe. Studies prove that being part of a group causes people to respond more strongly to experiences than they would if they were alone. Group experiences are more memorable and more likely to cause a person to change their attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. 

Our strategy is to collaborate on experiences of collective awe and connect those experiences to larger questions about environmental and ecological challenges—strengthening that sense of mutual connection and our shared responsibility for the planet we live on. We will serve as a platform for conversation—a meeting place for birders and others in conservation, environmental justice, sustainability, nature access, and climate resilience to learn from each other and to be collectively awed not just by birds, but also by the work and ideas of amazing leaders and organizations

A festival brings people together to celebrate and share a common interest. Common interest can become common cause when we experience collective awe.