Alabama native, conservationist and birder Christopher Joe spent much of his childhood outdoors. Joe Farm, the 200 acres of land that has been in his family for over three generations, nurtured both his love and respect for nature. It is also at the center of the story of how he uses birdwatching as a tool for bringing folks from all walks of life together.

In the Deep South, owning land as a Black person, let alone keeping it long enough to pass down for multiple generations is no small measure. Joe is acutely aware of that, reflecting on his family history and why he believes it’s important for Black folks to hold on to their family land.

“Our family went through dealing with the Klan, dealing with intimidation . . .this was not so far in the past . . . so even if you’re not gonna do farming, you can do other activities to make sure it remains in the family [to continue that legacy].”

With the understanding of how sacred Black land ownership is given the history of Black land loss, he set out to expand the uses of his family land while maintaining its function as a cattle farm.

After attending an ecotourism workshop and making a chance connection, the idea for offering up the land for birdwatching came about. From there, Joe linked up with Alabama Audubon and quickly learned they’d already been eyeing his property from afar.

“[They] were like, ‘well, to tell you the truth, Chris, we’ve actually been watching you all on your property and observing the birds from the highway.’ When we were cutting hay, it drew in these birds called Swallow-tailed kites. That’s our target bird during the summer. That’s our biggest draw.”

As the saying goes, the rest is history and Connecting With Birds and Nature Tours was born. However, Joe had no idea that his family land and the company he birthed from it would become a part of a larger conversation around Black folks and the natural world.

In the summer of 2020, a video clip of a Christian Cooper, a Black birder, having a confrontation with a white woman in New York City’s Central Park went viral. In response to Cooper requesting that she leash her dog since it was required in the area, she called the police claiming that an African American man was threatening her. This incident sparked first-hand testimonies across social media about the racism Black people often face while trying to enjoy the outdoors.

This made what Joe was doing with Connecting With Birds and Nature Tours even more meaningful.

“I’m doing what I do to give people that space where you have a guy that looks like you. My first group of all Black girls and their moms came down from Birmingham and it just was wild to see because it’s like, wow, these kids are having fun. . . they’re smiling, they’re laughing . . . it’s just amazing to see that I can provide this for them and that’s just what I’m continuing to do.”

The heart of Joe’s work extends beyond just representation. For him, it’s about cultivating community. This is what brings him the most joy as both a fellow bird watcher and entrepreneur.

“It’s just fun to see people connecting behind birds. I’m leading the tours, but I’m also looking and laughing because it’s like who would have thought these people would get together and do stuff like this and not, ‘Oh, well, this is a Black event or this is a white event.’ No, this is us experiencing nature together.”

Check out Season 1, Episode 6 of “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper” featuring Christopher Joe and Connecting With Birds and Nature Tours.