Join us for a powerful morning of remembrance, nature, and cultural history as
WorldBeat Cultural Center hosts the 3rd Annual Harriet Tubman Freedom Birdwatch
in honor of Juneteenth and the legacy of Black resistance and liberation.
This year’s experience will take place in and around WorldBeat Center’s Ethnobotany Garden, where
participants will engage in guided birdwatching, cultural storytelling, and hands-on learning.
Instead of walking through Balboa Park, we’ll be grounded in our garden sanctuary, tuning into the birds, plants, and freedom
stories rooted in this land.
In partnership with Celebrate Urban Birds and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we’ll be using the Merlin Bird ID app to
identify local birds by sight and sound. We’ll also reflect on the important role of birds in history—especially how Harriet Tubman used the call of the barred owl as a secret signal during Underground Railroad missions.
New this year is an Augmented Reality “freedom trail” in the garden. Visitors will follow interactive markers that highlight the lives and leadership of figures like Harriet Tubman and John Horse, a Black Seminole and freedom fighter who led maroon communities across the South.
Participants will also learn about the quilts used as communication tools, sewn with symbols that guided
enslaved people on their journey to freedom—blending African textile traditions with resistance strategies.
Event Highlights:
• Garden-based birdwatching
using the Merlin Bird ID app
• Stories of how the barred owl
and other birds were used as coded
signals
• Augmented Reality “freedom
trail” through the garden
• History of quilt codes on the
Underground Railroad
• Bird-friendly seed giveaways
• Cultural drumming and the
Juneteenth Freedom Plate
This is more than a birdwatch—it’s a celebration of heritage, resilience, and the deep connection between nature and liberation.
Free and open to the public.
All ages welcome. Let’s learn,
honor, and walk in the path of
freedom—together.
