Spotlight On Trish O'Kane & Her Upcoming Memoir
Contributed by Lucie Lehmann
Trish O’Kane used her quiet but powerful voice in service of many causes in her distinguished career as a journalist and activist. Whether it was documenting human rights abuses in Central America or working to fight racial and economic injustice in the American South, O’Kane, now a Senior Lecturer at the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School for the Environment and Natural Resources, was a fearless chronicler of wrongs big and small. But what she didn’t do, she admits, was pay “any attention to environmental issues,” which she saw as separate from the global problems she worked on.
Now, in her powerful book, Birding to Change the World: A Memoir (Ecco, 2024), due out on February 27th, O’Kane chronicles how her life and worldview completely changed when she started noticing birds in the post-Hurricane Katrina devastation outside of her ruined New Orleans home. Suddenly, the bright red cardinal she began watching became “the most precious being on earth,” a symbol of hope, a consciousness-raiser about environmental destruction, a way out of her despair, and the first signpost on her path to a new career. That bird led her to notice others, then to start going into Audubon Park in New Orleans, close to where she was teaching, and eventually to the University of Wisconsin, where she earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies. It was there that O’Kane morphed from accidental birder to environmental educator on a mission to save not just birds and the landscapes in which they live but to connect other humans to birds, to make us understand how linked our fates are, to show us how birds can teach us “not to hurt other species,” so that we can change our destructive behaviors and tackle global challenges like climate change. “I want these birds to be around forever,” she says.
O’Kane’s dissertation, based on her work and advocacy in Madison’s Edna Warner Park, which is both a community hub and home to over 150 species of birds and other animals, became the foundation and template for the popular course that she now teaches at UVM, “Birding to Change the World.” The curriculum mixes elements, including outdoor environmental education, exercise, mentorship, and birding. O’Kane trains her college students to be mentors to children at Flynn Elementary School in Burlington. Every week, O’Kane and her students venture out with their mentees to spend an afternoon exploring all forms of nature, learning about birds and the environment, and building powerful relationships that empower and inspire old and young alike.
GMAS board member Lucie Lehmann talked with O’Kane in advance of the book’s February 27th release. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
What have you learned from birds?
“Before I started watching birds, I wasn’t a person who could sit still. After Katrina, I had to pause and had to stop. The birds helped me to do that, and they connected me to the land that I had never been connected to before. They give me hope.
Birds evolved from giant dinosaurs to tiny, gorgeous, efficient, flying creatures. They survived catastrophic climate changes over millions of years. Birds have figured out how to live with us, but we can’t push the envelope too far. We need to evolve in our behaviors and how we interact with our planet-home to survive. Maybe our collective love for our feathered friends can inspire us to make this leap.
What is your hope for this book?
I have a couple of different hopes. First of all, there are 48 million birders in the U.S. If even half a million people heard about [the book] and would do something on behalf of the birds [that would be huge]. We’ve got to act now, or we’re going to lose the birds. We know if we see an osprey, it’s because people fought to save those birds. It’s hope with some hustle. Birds remind me of what is possible, and at this moment when so many feel disempowered, birds need us to act out of love and in whatever way we can and feel appropriate to help them.
My number two goal is to get kids outside. We are making them sick, keeping them inside. The solution is simple. Many schools have lovely yards, but the kids are sitting at desks, and they’re on meds. Studies show that this is absolutely wrong. We can resolve many of their behavioral problems just by getting those kids outside. I hope people read about the program. This is not rocket science. The schools are not letting them outside.
Can you talk about the metaphor of voice in the book?
I didn’t think about it before I wrote it. It just so happens that that’s how birds do stuff. It’s all about how they defend territory and stay in contact while they migrate, how they attract a mate. I weave [using your voice] through my pedagogy, and that comes from my background as a journalist, knowing how powerful it is to raise your voice and document oppression. It’s always been my goal as an educator to educate my students to find their voices. They become empowered. One voice really can make a difference.
Dr. O’Kane will be giving an online talk on February 22nd about her work and then on Wednesday, March 20th at 6:30 pm she’ll be giving an in-person talk, sponsored by GMAS, the Pierson Library, and The Flying Pig Bookstore, on Birding to Change the World: A Memoir at the Pierson Library in Shelburne. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing at the event. See our calendar of events for details.