At first, JoAnne Woods just wanted to make it easier for her neighbors in Upper Roxborough to enjoy the nature that surrounds them in Wissahickon Valley Park. A staff member at the Free Library’s Andorra Branch for 22 years, Woods had noticed that “Families were finding the library, but not the amazing park system right outside.”

Her idea, in 2017, was simple: Lend “Birder Backpacks,” with binoculars, field guides, and trail maps, the way the library lends books. “Binoculars seemed like a good way of getting people outside,” she says.

Eight years in, Philadelphians are checking out backpacks from 20 branches, exploring their neighborhoods, and discovering the city’s birdlife, finding ways to connect with nature and with one another — real contact with real people in real places.

In the

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