On November 14th and 15th, 2024, the Urban Bird Project was elated to host Dr. Christy Hyman. From her website, Dr. Hyman “is a digital humanist, environmental advocate, griefworker (as a bereaved mom) with a PhD in Geography (UNL). Her research focuses on African-American efforts toward cultural and political assertion in the Great Dismal Swamp region during the antebellum era as well as the attendant social and environmental costs of human/landscape resource exploitation. Hyman uses Geographic Information Systems to observe to what extent digital cartography can inform us of the human experience while acknowledging phenomena deriving from oppressive systems in society threatening sustainable futures.” Dr. Hyman’s scholarship in the digital humanities as well as her personal experiences with birds, made for an enriching and thought-provoking lecture to students in our environmental justice course. Dr. Hyman’s encouragement to take up wayfinding as a method for “vagrant” beings created a robust dialogue surrounding birding, identification, and relationality.
Dr. Hyman led us on a bird walk at Trueheart Ranch Nature Park in south San Antonio, where UBP, friends of UBP, and community took up wayfinding through the unpaved paths of a future River Reach location. There, among tesajillo and prickly pear cacti, cedar oak, mesquite, and palo verde trees recently control-burned with lingering mushroom stacks, we heard northern cardinals, witnessed green jays (to our surprise!), mockingbirds, woodpeckers, and more. The highlight for us all was a caracara atop a pecan tree in the distance, observing our every move before expanding its wings, angelic, and taking flight. Another highlight was definitely hearing and witnessing a green jay, which we believed was present only in The Valley (RGV). Nestled within an enormous oak tree, the green jay lingered in the branches before making its way into another oak tree. Our afternoon walk was definitely filled with wonder as we came upon stories of pecans and seashells resting along the acequia.
We will always be grateful for our time in conversation and in contemplation. We’ll move forward in the world with new insights, vast outlooks, and hopeful futures because of our time with Dr. Hyman.
Follow Dr. Hyman at The Bird Lady at Turtle Island!
