Urban Bird Project is based in San Antonio, Texas—originally named Yanawana
meaning place where I rest in Carrizo/Comecrudo language or Spirit Waters in Pajalate
which refers to the river as a source of life.

Who We Are

The Urban Bird Project is a transdisciplinary environmental justice initiative that brings Arts & Culture, Avian Ecology, and Mexican American and Indigenous Studies together through local, migratory, and culturally significant birds. With funding from the Mellon Foundation, and the USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) program, the project is led by faculty and doctoral students from The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and community members across South Texas, Greater México, and beyond.

Our Goals

Urban Bird Project engages Yanawana, South Texas, and Greater México in interdisciplinary projects in order to:

reclaim ecological knowledge in the Texas-México borderlands
train graduate and undergraduate students in transdisciplinary and community-engaged research methodologies
create sustainable collaborative university/community partnerships where research can be brought to bear on issues of environmental justice; and
create broad public access to art and culture-led programming in environmental justice.

How We Accomplish Our Goals

Urban Bird Project forwards a series of community-university engagements that promote a transnational and cross-cultural understanding of the importance of birds. Our interdisciplinary work includes:

a cross-college, team-taught course in community-engaged research
a UBP Scholars program that closely mentors students in community-engaged interdisciplinary research;
a digital humanities repository preserving earth knowledge in South Texas, México, and the Américas; and
multiple interdisciplinary environmental justice research projects.

Our Involvement
(2020-Present)

From our work in community with artists, urban schools, and knowledge keepers, to our team-taught course on community-engaged research, to our arts and culture-led community birdwalks, we continue to build connections across San Antonio, South Texas, and Greater México. Connect to our social media and come back often to find new updates and memories.