Join Fairmount Park Conservancy, Fair Amount Food Forest, and birding instructor Troy Bynum of TB Wildlife LLC for a guided bird walk and garden tour in East Fairmount Park on Saturday, April 11 from 10:30 AM–12:30 PM. 

We’ll start out by turning our eyes and ears to the sky as we look and listen for different birds near the Food Forest and along the park edge. This time of year, Philly’s green spaces are bustling with migrants as well as year-round species. Then we’ll take a tour of the Fair Amount Food Forest, a community-based, publicly-accessible, and educational food forest garden located outside of Woodford Mansion in Fairmount Park.

ABOUT FAIR AMOUNT FOOD FOREST: Fair Amount Food Forest is a community farm and educational garden on roughly two acres in East Fairmount Park, whose landscape is diversely planted with fruits, nuts, berries, herbs, and vegetables. The landscape is intentionally planted to mimic a natural ecosystem, provide healthy produce to residents and volunteers, and serve as an educational public garden that benefits and engages its local community.

ABOUT BIRDING INSTRUCTOR: Troy Bynum, owner of TB Wildlife Photography LLC, is not only an enthusiastic birder but also a passionate wildlife photographer from Philadelphia, PA. Troy’s work focuses on capturing and showcasing the remarkable colors, intricate patterns, and rich textures that are abundant throughout the natural world.Troy’s work has been published by Discovery Warner Bros., the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Grid Magazine, Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, The Chestnut Hill Local, and other regional publications.

Troy is also an avid birder and experienced guide, leading regional and international birding tours with Hillstar Nature, Delmarva Birding Weekends, DC Bird Alliance, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and TB Wildlife Photography LLC to name a few organizations. Troy also volunteers as Field Trip Chair for Liberty Bird Alliance where he coordinates and often leads domestic and international birding trips for the members.

Troy currently lives in Montgomery County with his wife and daughter and loves spending his free time with them birding, hiking, biking, or playing bird-themed board games.

TICKETS: Free**, donations appreciated. Registration is required.

**We are proud to be able to offer these programs for free. However, there is limited capacity for many programs. Last-minute cancellations and no-shows can take away tickets from others. We ask that you be mindful of this and please only register if you plan to attend.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

• We will meet at the Boxers’ Trail Gateway, located at the corner of 33rd Street and West Dauphin Drive.
• Unlike other birding walks where we hike along trails, most of the birding at this program will be done near the Food Forest’s garden, with minimal walking (roughly one mile) to nearby locations to see more if needed. 
• Program is appropriate for adults and mature adolescents.
• Please dress according to weather conditions and wear good walking shoes (boots/sneakers).
• Bring water (drinking water is not available in the park) and a snack.
• Unfortunately, there are no bathrooms along the hike route so please plan accordingly.
• Please bring your own binoculars if you have them. If you do not have a pair, please reach out to programs@myphillypark.org as we do have a limited number available to borrow.
• This event is part of our Second Saturday Guided Hike Series. The hikes are not dependent on one another so feel free to sign up for one or for more than one!
• Space is limited in this program and registration is required. If you cannot attend an event, please show courtesy to fellow parkgoers and try to cancel your registration with advance notice so that someone else can participate. 
• Important pre-event information and any event updates are sent out via email. Please make sure the email address entered is correct and that you check it before coming out to the event.

PARKING/GETTING THERE: We will meet at the Boxers’ Trail Gateway, located at the corner of 33rd Street and West Dauphin Drive. There is plenty of free parking along West Dauphin Drive. As always, never leave valuables in your car! If traveling by public transit, the nearest stop is at 33rd and Dauphin Street – a 2-3 minute walk from the start. The nearest Indego bike station is also at 33rd and Dauphin.

QUESTIONS? Please reach out to programs@myphillypark.org

Enjoy our programs? Play it forward for Philly parks! Fairmount Park Conservancy’s Fair Play Campaign is creating healthy park infrastructure, expanding people-centered programs, and preparing our organization for the future. Learn more and get involved at fairplayphilly.org