2 special birding events are coming up in New Jersey that are designed for people with reduced mobility

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When MaryAnn Bieseker was younger, she used to enjoy hiking and camping with her family. Now 92 years old, she has mobility challenges that make it difficult for her to spend time in nature. She uses a walker to get around, and she spends most of her time in an assisted living facility in Mercer County, New Jersey.

However, she and her daughter attended a birding activity last fall, sponsored by the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, for people with mobility concerns.

“I love birds, and just the fact of getting out in the woods and seeing birds was wonderful. It was very exhilarating,” she said.

Sean Holland, the disability and access nature advocate with the group, said two more inclusive nature programs, part of their “Big Sit” series, are coming up on April 18 and April 25, that are designed for people with mobility concerns like Bieseker’s.

Big Sit

He said the Big Sit concept is to gather a group of people together in a circle 17 feet in diameter and wait for the birds to come.

“You just sit there for an hour or two and you calculate how many bird species you see or hear,” Holland said.

The original Big Sit was created by the New Haven Bird Club in October 1992. Initially billed as a “tailgate party for birders,” the event has expanded across the nation and around the world. Big Sit spinoff events now take place year-round, often sponsored or supported by organizations like New Jersey Audubon.

“Being outside really helps rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit,” he said. “Exercise, mingling with the community and having conversations — it’s really important,” he said.

Everyone should be able to have experiences like these, said Adehl Schwaderer, program manager at New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory.

“The natural world is for everyone, no matter what kind of limitations they may have,” she said. “I think it’s really critical to provide programs to enjoy the great outdoors.”

Bieseker was able to attend the bird-watching event by using an all-terrain wheelchair provided by the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

“I saw this contraption. It looked like a tractor to me, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, I hope that isn’t the wheelchair,’” she said. “I’ll never be able to do that.”

But after getting a quick tutorial on how to control the device, she said that she felt more comfortable and headed off to help her group find birds.

Her daughter, Diane Baumgartner, of Hamilton, New Jersey, said her mother was thrilled to participate in the event.

“She was getting to do something that she didn’t think she would ever be able to do again, she really was tickled she was out in the woods. It was a wonderful time,” she said.

Baumgartner said when she was a child, she used to go on nature hikes with her parents, and having the chance to share the experience again with her mother was special.

“Her world is in the assisted living facility,” Baumgartner said. “This was a way to expand that world. She posted about it on her Facebook page. She was thrilled, and we shared it together.”

Holland said seven specially designed all-terrain wheelchairs are available to transport Big Sit participants to the birding observation circles. He said that while some people are avid birders and will keep track of how many species they can identify, others may not know anything about birds.

“This will be a chance to spend quality time outside, and everyone is welcome,” he said.

People of all ages and without mobility challenges are also welcome to join the Big Sit events.

Schwaderer said enjoying nature helps to sustain all human beings.

“It makes people happier,” she said. “It really can help to take yourself out of your own head. Finding ways to help get people outdoors is a really good idea.”

She believes actively observing nature helps to give everyone perspective about their own lives.

“Every individual bird, not just the species, has their own individual personality,” she said. “Watching them make their way through the world helps people to not feel alone.”

Holland said the Pinelands Preservation Alliance offers outdoor nature programs that focus on local animals and plants as well as birds.

Burlington County spokesman Dave Levinsky said the county has more than 50 miles of regional and interior park trails that are designed to be accessible for all types of wheelchairs.

“One of the goals of the trails is to bring people with mobility limitations into County parks and other natural spaces so they can benefit from being outdoors in scenic natural environments,” he said in a statement.

He said the county is working to create an additional 125 to 150 miles of trails, with 70 miles within the New Jersey Pinelands alone, including parts of Evesham, Woodland, Shamong and Tabernacle.

Baumgartner said she and her mother are considering signing up for one of the two Big Sit events this month. She said she would encourage anyone with a disability to take advantage of outdoor nature programs.

“It would be wonderful. They would enjoy it very much,” she said.