Today we’d like to introduce you to Midwest Falconry Becky Geiger.
Midwest Falconry, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We have always been falconers. For many years it was the dream of Doug Geiger to start a Falconry School so that he could share his love of the sport with others. He had talked to the Ohio Division of Wildlife for a number of years and had gotten them to agree to allow the school, however, paperwork is not Dougs strong suite. A series of false starts and disappointments happened before he finally convinced me to do all the necessary paperwork… it’s a lot! Once all the paperwork and proper permits were in place we could really begin to dream and envision what we wanted to share with the world about falconry and Birds of Prey. Our biggest thing we hope to accomplish is to get people, specifically children, outdoors and aware of all the other species on the planet. Today’s kids are the hope for the future. Unfortunately, the last two generations of children have been primarily raised indoors with a steady diet of technology. We meet children every day who spend very little time outdoors. They cannot correctly identify common wildlife, trees, or plants.
We are always brainstorming ways to make our programs very dynamic with up-close crowd participation. We know we must do this to compete with the video games and cellphones. We want every interaction to be an awe-inspiring memorable event, with the hope that in the future one of the children we talked to will remember how important it is to protect native species.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We’ve had some struggles. Financials are always a problem. You don’t get rich doing conservation education work, it fills the soul but not the pocketbook. Everything we make and more goes back into housing, feed, permits, supplies, and vet bills for the birds. Technology is a struggle for us, we are great at doing the training and the work but website skills are definitely lacking. The current pandemic has been a huge hit for everyone in conservation education. For the last 18 months, we have essentially been unable to work because of the limitations on crowd gathering. We had multiple large shows cancel and that trend is reigniting with the resurgence of the virus. We just had a large show cancel for October because the city in which it was located declared a state of emergency due to Covid 19.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We love training birds. It is our favorite. We also love breeding birds. Training is what we specialize in and we always love a challenge. I’m a big believer in second chance birds. Given time and a competent handler most all birds will come around. What I am most proud of is the relationship our team develops with each and every bird. It takes time and understanding of each individual and the ability to recognize their needs, and the willingness to make necessary adjustments so that their training sessions are as productive as possible. We want healthy, happy working birds, who are very comfortable in their work as animal ambassadors. They frequently work in large crowded places. We are available for large-scale and small-scale shows as well as corporate team building, schools, parks, festivals, and private events. We also offer Falconry 101 school at our facility once a month November through May.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice would be always grow and learn. Every single person and bird has something to teach you if you are paying attention. Don’t be dogmatic in your thoughts and ideas. In conservation education, it can be easy at times to feel jaded and hopeless with the constant stream of bad news on the environment that is reported in the media. We have to remember that there are a lot of good things happening too. There are a lot of people who are also trying to make a difference. We can make changes if we just all do a little!
Contact Info:
- Email: Midwestfalconry@gmail.com
- Instagram: @midwestfalconry
- Facebook: @midwestfalconry
