What is Blackbirds?

In 2015, when my oldest daughter was 5 yrs old, I searched for a local Girl Scouts or Brownies troop, but couldn’t find one. So, I decided to start my own, with my daughter’s friends and the neighborhood kids.

It was a co-ed club for kids ages 4-12. Each meeting consisted of an environmental justice activity and a social justice activity, such as cleaning up the local park and making ‘welcome’ cards for our new refugee neighbors. Every meeting ended with crafts — sketching wildlife observed on a hike, making dream catchers from willow tree branches, leaf collages, etc. Most crafts involved a lot of glitter because, well… why not?!

Through the requests and encouragement of the parents, Blackbirds has now expanded to include adults.

Our Mission statement: To creatively and boldly support water, food, energy and waste equity in the pursuit of environmental justice for marginalized communities, and to inspire the next generation of environmental activists from the global community.

Why is it called ‘Blackbirds’?

I called the club Blackbirds for the following reasons:

1. I used to sing Blackbird (by the Beatles) to my kids when I would rock them to sleep. I love the social justice meaning behind the lyrics.

2. My kids and I love watching the crows swarm the Lancaster skies at sunrise and sunset

3. It’s a fun name!

Even though Blackbirds has expanded to all ages, we still focus on kids.