Have you wanted to participate in outdoor recreation, but felt hindered in some way?  Join us May 7 at 2 PM ET for an inspirational presentation about one woman’s journey to overcome obstacles, surpass her goals, and raise awareness of women’s safety in the outdoors. Co-sponsored by the Hoosier National Forest, this event features Tiffany Kersten, the 2021 record-setter for the birding achievement a Big Year in the lower 48 states.

Register to join the event in-person at Goose Pond Visitors Center. The Hoosier National Forest will also be livestreaming the event on Facebook at https://facebook.com/HoosierNF

For those who have registered and will attend in-person at the Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area visitor center: Feel free to come an hour early to view the visitor center exhibits and see birds in their habitat. We hope to have guided walks before and after the presentation (sign-up will be available onsite), or you are welcome to do a self-guided exploration.

DNR values inclusion and access for all participants and will provide reasonable accommodations for this event. Please contact Kalli Dunn at [email protected] or (812)512-9185 to make an accommodation request. Requests must be submitted by 5/1/2023.

About the presentation and speaker:

Birdie Big Year: Elevating Women Birders

Tiffany Kersten didn't set out to do a Big Year, but after a series of unanticipated and serendipitous events, she suddenly found herself amidst one. As a sexual assault survivor, she spent 2021 traveling to all corners of the Lower 48 States, tallying birds and gifting personal safety alarms to women she met along the way. Her goal was to see 700 bird species, and to raise awareness of women's safety in the outdoors. She ended up surpassing her goal and setting a new Lower 48 Big Year record of 726 species. In her presentation, Tiffany will lead us through the fear, empowerment, struggles and healing that all played vital roles in the personal growth she experienced on this wild adventure.

Tiffany Kersten is a Wisconsin native, turned Texan by way of New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. She holds a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Northland College, and has spent over a decade as an environmental educator, teaching about raptor identification and migration with the Cape May Bird Observatory, monitoring shorebirds on Cape Cod, banding Honeycreepers in Hawaii, and finally landing in South Texas where she worked at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, then Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center, and managed the McAllen Nature Center, before founding her own company, Nature Ninja Birding Tours.

DNR values inclusion and access for all participants and will provide reasonable accommodations for this event. Please contact Kalli Dunn at [email protected] or (812)512-9185 to make an accommodation request. Requests must be submitted by 5/1/2023.

Contacts

Kalli Dunn, Property Manager, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (812) 512-9185, [email protected]

Marion Mason, Public Affairs Specialist, Hoosier National Forest (812-276-4736, [email protected]