Members Remove 'Audubon' From Chevy Chase Group Named For Enslaver

CHEVY CHASE, MD — Members of the Audubon Naturalist Society, a 125-year-old conservation group based in Chevy Chase, voted last week to change its name to Nature Forward to remove any association with John James Audubon, a 19th century ornithologist and artist, who was also an enslaver and outspoken supporter of slavery.

About a year ago, the Audubon Naturalist Society, the oldest environmental organization in the D.C. area, became the first group with Audubon in its name to announce plans to adopt a new name.

In July, the Seattle chapter of the National Audubon Society followed suit, becoming the first affiliate of the national group to announce plans to change its name to distance itself from John James Audubon.

The name change of the Audubon Naturalist Society was approved during the group's annual meeting on Oct. 20 at Woodend Nature Sanctuary in Chevy Chase. The group’s process to pick a new name included surveys, focus groups, interviews and branding workshops. The group considered 100 different names before choosing Nature Forward, according to DCist.

“We’ve been confused with other organizations for 125 years — people have thought we’re the National Audubon, and we’re not,” Lisa Alexander, the group’s executive director, told DCist. “We really wanted a name that could be all ours.”

In the 1820s, Audubon traveled the continent with the goal of cataloging and drawing all the native birds of North America. Audubon’s work as an ornithologist and artist made him well known among the early adherents to conservation.

But Audubon also owned a trading post in Kentucky, where he bought and sold enslaved people. Audubon was criticized by the movement of abolitionists who worked to free those held in bondage. In response, he dismissed the abolitionist movement in American and Britain.

In 1834, he wrote to his wife, Lucy Bakewell Audubon, that the British government had “acted imprudently and too precipitously” in emancipating enslaved people in its West Indian possessions. Audubon died in 1851.

The Audubon Naturalist Society was founded in 1897, eight years before the National Audubon Society. The groups are not affiliated. The National Audubon Society, which has nearly 500 chapters across the country, is also deciding whether to change its name.

The new Nature Forward logo features the outline of a heart-shaped redbud leaf, a native tree to the D.C. area. The heart-shape signals love for community and nature. Its pointed tip represents an arrow pointing toward a greener future for the next generation, MyMCMedia.org reported. The bright colors of the leaf represent nature in all four seasons and a commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging.

The Chevy Chase-based group works on conservation issues in the D.C. area, including fighting to preserve the C&O Canal. Current programs include environmental education for children and adults and work to improve the health of local waterways. The nonprofit operates two nature sanctuaries in Chevy Chase and Leesburg, Virginia.

The group acquired the 68-acre Rust Estate on the west end of Leesburg that it operates in partnership with NOVA Parks as a sanctuary. The centerpiece of the estate is a manor house, which serves as the environmental education center.

At last week's annual meeting, Alexander thanked everyone who supported the new Nature Forward name. "Nature Forward will help move us toward a stronger, more inclusive future,” she said.

“We are so proud of our history of environmental education and conservation in the region,” Alexander added. “We will continue to help all communities across our region to appreciate, understand and protect their natural environment.”

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