Jason Ward (naturalist)
Jason Ward | |
|---|---|
 Ward with an eastern screech-owl | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Television | Birds of North America |
Jason Ward is an American naturalist, birder, and activist.[1] He hosted the 2019 television documentary series Birds of North America, and is the co-founder and former CEO of "The BlackAFinSTEM Collective".
Early life
[edit]Ward was born and raised in Bronx, New York.[2][3] He has five siblings.[4] He described seeing a peregrine falcon eating a pigeon when he was 14,[2] which was one of the events that raised his interest in birds.[2][4][5] He later moved to Atlanta and worked in a mortgage job.[6] There he learned about the Atlanta Audubon Society, and started joining their bird walks.[2][6] Eight months later he started leading these bird walks.[6] He also worked at Zoo Atlanta as an education instructor.[7] He was a community relations and outreach coordinator for the National Audubon Society until January 2020.[2][8]
Outreach work
[edit]Ward started a bird identification game on Twitter called #TrickyBirdID.[9] He tweets out pictures of birds and participants have to guess what species it is. After the reveal he explains how to identify the bird.[9]
Through this Twitter game he caught the attention of Anna Holmes, who worked as an editorial director for Topic.com.[2] This led to the series Birds of North America, produced by Topic, of which the first episode was released on March 17, 2019.[10] The show regularly features Ward's brother, Jeffrey, who is also a birder.[4] The documentary series aims to reach people who might not normally engage in conservation efforts and learn about natural history—in particular young people, people of color, and people who live in cities.[2][11] Ward also aims to share birding as a therapeutic activity for people living in cities.[6]
In May 2020, Ward and other naturalists and science communicators founded the BlackAFinSTEM collective[12] and participated in Black Birders Week— a series of online events to celebrate black scientists, scholars, and naturalists.[13]
Sexual assault allegations
[edit]In February 2021, Ward was fired from the American Bird Conservancy amid allegations of sexual assault.[14][15] Topic.com, the streaming platform that produces The Birds of North America, promptly removed the series from all their platforms.[16] Swarovski Optik removed images and posts from their social media platforms and put their cooperation with Ward "on hold".[17] Other organizations also severed ties with Ward in light of these allegations, including the BlackAFinSTEM collective (which he co-founded),[18] Alabama Audubon, and Georgia Audubon (where he volunteered as a field trip leader). Atlas Obscura and the American Birding Association, which featured Ward on their websites and podcasts, began reviewing, editing, and removing that content. Nissan announced they removed the video of a commercial featuring Ward.[19] The National Audubon Society, an organization where Ward worked until January 2020, also published a statement ending any future relationship with him.[20]
Awards
[edit]- 2019 – Alongside Wildlife Foundation Outreach Award,[8] rescinded in February 2021 following sexual assault allegations[21]
- 2020 – Listed as one of Grist 50[22] also rescinded
References
[edit]- ^ "Jason Ward". National Audubon Society. October 6, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Becker, Rachel (April 3, 2019). "Birding gets new life in this YouTube nature series". The Verge. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ Jason Ward goes birding in Central Park | The Kid Should See This, April 1, 2019, retrieved August 10, 2019
- ^ a b c Russell, Anna (March 25, 2019). "Birding Brothers of the Bronx". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ Buckley, Cara (June 28, 2019). "A Bird Show Spots a Rival, and Bird-Watchers of Color Are Angry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Sloat, Sarah (9 June 2019). "Birder Jason Ward Explains Why Birding Is So Therapeutic for City-Dwellers". Inverse. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ "From Birding in the Bronx to Birding on Your Screens, It's Been a Journey". Audubon. March 21, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Alongside Wildlife (March 15, 2019). "Congratulations to Jason Ward – The First Winner of The Alongside..." Living Alongside Wildlife. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Becker, Rachel (March 24, 2019). "Test your animal knowledge with these challenges on Twitter". The Verge. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ Birds of North America: Warblers in Central Park, retrieved August 10, 2019
- ^ Carroll, Rebecca (March 27, 2019). "REBEL: Jason Ward Is Changing the Face of Birding". WNYC. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ Qaiser, Farah (June 2020). "#BlackBirdersWeek highlights Black nature enthusiasts and scientists". Massive Science. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ Willingham, AJ (3 June 2020). "These Black nature lovers are busting stereotypes, one cool bird at a time". CNN. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ "An Allegation of Sexual Assault Sends Shock Waves Through the Birding World". Audubon. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ^ "Jason Ward is no longer employed at American Bird Conservancy following serious allegations of misconduct that are completely incompatible with ABC's values. Please direct any questions to ABC's Director of Public Relations, Jordan Rutter". Twitter. 16 February 2021.
- ^ ""Serious allegations of sexual assault against the host of "Birds of North America" were made over the weekend. We take these accusations very seriously. Out of sensitivity for the brave individual sharing these disturbing allegations, Topic is removing the series from all our platforms."". Twitter. 16 February 2021.
- ^ "As a consequence of the serious allegations made against one of our opinion leaders, we have removed images and posts from our social media channels. Until the final clarification of the accusations, we are distancing ourselves from the individual and have put our cooperation on hold". Twitter. 17 February 2021.
- ^ "BlackAFinSTEM has been made aware of the allegations involving a member. In accordance with our mission and values, we have separated from the individual indefinitely". Twitter.
- ^ "Nissan does not tolerate improper behavior of any kind and is fully committed to maintaining a work environment and business relationships consistent with those policies. Given the serious nature of these allegations, Nissan has removed its video featuring birder Jason Ward". Twitter. 2021-02-16.
- ^ "Audubon Responds to Serious Allegations Against a Prominent Birder". Audubon. 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "A previous recipient of our outreach award has been accused of sexual assault; we have rescinded the award. We stand with survivors and appreciate the bravery required to come forward". Twitter. 16 February 2021.
- ^ "Grist 50: 2020: Celebrating 5 Years of Fixers". Grist. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.