“Wherever there are people there are birds, so it makes comparatively little difference where you live, if you are only in earnest about getting acquainted with your feathered neighbors...For more than all the statistics is the sanity and serenity of spirit that comes when we step aside from the turmoil of the world to hold quiet converse with Nature.”
Our Story
Kevin and Darrow on the inaugural birding bike tour that started it all.
In the fall of 2014, Bird School Project founders Darrow Feldstein and Kevin Condon set out on a quest to bike the whole California coast from north to south while visiting schools, teaching students about birds, and helping them to develop the skills of a naturalist. Though the cycling tour was cut short due to an untimely bike accident, we continued on by car and in just over 2 months, we worked with 1,700 pre-school to high school students in over 70 classes in 24 schools throughout California. Based on overwhelming positive feedback from participating students and teachers statewide, we decided to continue our work in an even deeper way. Now, based in Santa Cruz, CA, BSP offers extended 4-week life science units with schools in the Monterey Bay. In addition, BSP offers community birding days as well as individual day-long workshops for schools and community groups. BSP has expanded staff by enlisting the help of UCSC undergraduate interns, organized through the UCSC Environmental Studies internship office. These internships are designed to support undergraduates who have an interest in natural history and experiential education.
Kevin Condon Co-founder, Executive Director
In 2012, Kevin finished his degree in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz, with a focus on natural history and economics. He is certified by the Experiential Leadership Program at the UC Santa Cruz Recreation department, where he also worked as a Recreation Leader and Wilderness Orientation instructor.
After school, Kevin took his study of natural history to many national parks of the West, including Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Zion, where he worked as a field biologist for the USGS. He has also spent time teaching and raft guiding at Mother Lode River Center, and as a teaching assistant for the Natural History Field Quarter at UC Santa Cruz.
Darrow Feldstein Co-founder
Originally from Los Angeles, Darrow did not grow up connected to nature. After having his mind opened to the beautiful intricacies of the natural world during college, he set out to ensure that more young people have an opportunity to connect with their surroundings. In 2012, Darrow graduated from the Environmental Studies department at UC Santa Cruz with a degree focused on natural history and education. His passion for understanding the natural world has taken him all around the globe to immerse himself in deep, wild places.
Since finishing school he has taught seasonally for a variety of nature education programs including the Natural History Field Quarter and Wilderness Orientation program at UC Santa Cruz. He has also worked as an assistant reserve steward for the UCSC Upper Campus Natural Reserve and as a natural history and nature awareness instructor for an alternative elementary school, the Riekes Center, in Santa Cruz, California. More recently, Darrow has spent his time working in Yosemite National Park as a field biologist studying the alpine habitats of Sierra Bighorn Sheep and American Pikas and the populations of California Spotted Owls and Great Gray Owls.