Creek to Peak - A Black Birders Week Community Walk for All-Levels

We welcome all experience levels from beginner to advanced. Come learn about birding and create a community of local birders. Bring your binocs if you have them. We hope to foster connection and community to increase the number of bird-lovers in San Francisco.

This walk is centered on Black/African American birders and their families, with people of all backgrounds welcomed to join.

Details: The theme for Black Birders Week this year is “Flyways & Freedom: Advocacy, Action, and the Future”, continuing a movement that centers Black joy, liberation, and collective power in the outdoors. This is a space where Black birders, scientists, and nature enthusiasts are not just participants but visionary leaders and changemakers, reshaping narratives and demanding equity in every arena.

Program: We’ll meet at the Glen Park Rec Center and make our way along Islais Creek up to the McAteer Farm at the top of Glen Canyon Park, birding along the way.

Once at the farm, we’ll meet up with volunteers at the Nature in the City native plant nursery, as well as the McAteer Campus Community Farm. Walk participants are welcome to pitch in at the farm or nursery workday, or get treated to a spread of delicious food and wood-fired pizza.

At the end, participants can walk back down to Glen Canyon or depart via Portola Drive.

Ayanna (she/her) was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where her connection to the outdoors began long before she had the words to describe it. Surrounded by nature, she developed a deep appreciation for wildlife that would later shape both her career and purpose. She is now a wildlife biologist with over six years of field experience, holding a B.S. in Animal Science and an M.S. in Integrative Biology, with research focused on understanding biodiversity.

Through her work in conservation, land management, and education, Ayanna realized that access to nature and feeling a sense of belonging in it are not equal for everyone. That realization led her to create Phoreign in Nature, a space dedicated to helping people reconnect with the outdoors in ways that feel welcoming, freeing, and restorative. As a Black birder, Ayanna shares, “Birding wasn’t my first love, but it became my peace amongst the storms of life.” Today, she carries that same sense of peace into every experience she designs, inviting others to slow down, explore, and find their own connection to nature.

Preparation: Bring your binoculars if you have one and all your nature loving friends and family.

Meeting Location: Meet at the picnic tables behind (north of) the Glen Park Rec Center along Elk Street. See map pin here.

Transportation and Parking: Parking is available in the surrounding neighborhoods but can be in short supply. Allow extra time if parking! There is no time limit on weekend days.

This is a 10 min walk from the Glen Park BART station.

The MUNI 44-O’Shaughnessy stops at the intersection of Bosworth Street, Congo Street, and Elk Street.

Bike parking is available by the Glen Canyon Park Recreation Center.

Cost: This walk is FREE to attend (with RSVPs kindly requested).

Donations (in cash) can be made to Nature in the City on the day of the event. Special bonus! Everyone who donates $10 and above will receive a copy of the Nature in the City Map.

Or become a Nature in the City supporter and receive early-bird invitations to all our future walks, among other fun perks.

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