Academy Town Square: Lights Out Philly

Maiken Scott in conversation with Jason Weckstein, Keith Russell and Brandon Cuffy

During the fall 2020 migration season, a perfect storm of events led to the tragic deaths of thousands of birds from window strikes. This sorrowful occurrence galvanized a volunteer group called Bird Safe Philly, which is determined to prevent something similar from happening again. Through their Lights Out Philly campaign, the group was able to convince many of the city’s building owners to turn out their lights at night during the spring and fall migration periods.

Join us for a conversation hosted by Maiken Scott, host of WHYY’s The Pulse, to better understand the challenges that birds face in urban environments and the ways that we can better protect them. Participants will include Bird Safe Philly member Keith Russell, who is also a birder, science communicator and the program manager for urban conservation for Audubon Pennsylvania; Architectural Researcher Brandon Cuffy, who develops innovative approaches to protecting urban wildlife habitat through building design; and the Academy’s Associate Curator of Ornithology Jason Weckstein, who has been conducting research using the salvaged birds collected by Lights Out Philly volunteers.

This program is presented in conjunction with the Academy’s current exhibition Conversations With Birds.

Academy Town Square: Lights Out Philly is a pay-what-you-wish program with a recommended donation of $15.