3rd Annual Harriet Tubman Freedom Bird Watch – Juneteenth Celebration Part II

3rd Annual Harriet Tubman Freedom Bird Watch – Juneteenth Celebration Part II

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Saturday, June 21st for this year’s Harriet Tubman Freedom Bird Watch—a day filled with cultural remembrance, environmental awareness, and community celebration.

This special event was co-created with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Celebrate Urban Birds Project, and we were honored to welcome Marilu to San Diego to be part of the experience. Together, we are building programs that support biodiversity, equity, and community-led science—uplifting marginalized voices and fostering love, peace, anti-racism, and environmental education. Our shared vision connects people with nature, science, art, culture, and balance with our planet.

Held annually in honor of Harriet Tubman, the Bird Watch pays tribute to her deep knowledge of the natural world—using birds, stars, and geography to lead freedom seekers through the Underground Railroad. The event also highlights the history and significance of quilt codes, once used as visual maps guiding people to freedom.

A heartfelt thank you to Kim Ballentine Lane for sharing her moving quilt works, including a sample Underground Railroad quilt and our Threads of Freedom Community Quilt. Attendees also enjoyed a special preview of our Threads of Freedom Quilt Exhibit, which features quilt blocks inspired by codes believed to have been used during escape routes to freedom.

Gratitude goes to the San Diego Bird Alliance, So Cal Bird Nerds, and Tammah Watts for co-leading our community birding tours, offering participants a deeper connection with our feathered relatives and their role in signaling the health of our ecosystems.

And to Dramane Koné and the Djelia Kadi Ensemble—thank you for grounding the day with your powerful West African drum and dance performance, uplifting us all in spirit, rhythm, and ancestral joy.

Together, we continue to rise—in multicultural unity, environmental justice, and a collective commitment to restoring habitat, promoting wellness, and preserving cultural memory.