One of the true pleasures of being a nature blogger is meeting other nature bloggers. If you haven’t tried this before, I highly recommend it. With our international community of intelligent, inquisitive, and often entertaining naturalists, writers and photographers, there is simply no need to toil in solitude!
TR Ryan of From the Faraway, Nearby mentioned in his recent Nature Blog Network interview how much he relished spending time with other NBN bloggers at the New River Birding and Nature Festival in West Virginia. Frankly, I was mightily jealous as I’ve had the same unforgettable pleasure of spending days with lots of fellow nature bloggers at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in November 2008. Good times!
Birding festivals are fit not just for avid birders but for naturalists of nearly every stripe. So let’s try to get as many of us in place for one event as is possible. The perfect event for 2009 has to be the Midwest Birding Symposium.
What makes the MBS so ideal as a nature blogger convocation? For one thing, it’s organized by a beloved NBN blogger, Bill Thompson III. Also on hand will be Bill’s spouse, an even more beloved (sorry, Bill, but it’s true) NBN blogger, Julie Zickefoose. The list of speakers is positively filthy with NBN bloggers including Kenn Kaufman, Jeff Gordon, Jim McCormac, Sharon Stiteler, and… me! I can only imagine how many members of our community are already planning to attend. After all, Ohio is within driving distance of a ton of North American nature bloggers. Everyone else can fly.
So I think we should make this a thing. The organizers of this exciting event are offering an Early Bird Special: register before July 15, 2009 and save $20.00 off the FULL SYMPOSIUM PACKAGE. What a deal! Lock in your registration now and look forward to the Midwest Birding Symposium all summer. Doesn’t that sound like fun?
So think about coming out for a festive early fall weekend with me and a host of other nature bloggers to talk nature, blogging, and whatever else comes to mind. Let us know in the comments if you’ve been persuaded by my powerful oratory or were already planning to attend MBS and haven’t been dissuaded!
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I would love to get out to one of these eventually. Unfortunately, I don’t think this will be the one, as we’ll have just moved and money will be tight for a bit. Sounds like there’ll be a great lineup, though, and I hope it’s well attended!
It’s already on my calendar!
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[...] nature blogging, a presentation I hope will be attended by lots of real live bloggers. We’ve put out the call on the Nature Blog Network to make this a blogger convocation. But don’t think this is just for bloggers; if you read [...]