Meet Christopher Joe

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christopher Joe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christopher below.

Hi Christopher, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My dad, Cornelius Joe. He taught in the Tuscaloosa County School System for over 30 years in Agribusiness. I can hear him say it loud and clear to me and my 3 siblings, “You have to be BULLDOG tough.”
That philosophy has helped me be resilient in a venture that I never would have thought I’d be in less known the only one in the entire state of Alabama.
That philosophy also translates to my overall desire to operate in the lane that I have. I’m not focused on who is doing what or what is the new “wave.”

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Christopher Joe. I’m a native of Greensboro, Alabama. Graduate of Alabama A & M University where I majored in Agribusiness Management. I’m currently the District Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, an agency under within USDA, located in Macon County Alabama. I reside in Montgomery, Alabama with my wife Christy and 5-year-old daughter Summer Grace.
I started Connecting with Birds and Nature Tours, LLC October 31, 2018, to diversify the family’s Black Angus cattle farm. The property has been in the family since the mid-1800s. It is located on 200 acres in Newbern, Alabama. The property consists of 6 miles of nature trails that traverse through, pastures, bottomland hardwoods, and even a creek. This diverse habitat encourages birds and wildlife of multiple species to visit and even call our place home.
Our mission is to use our private property as a conduit to provide people the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors through activities such as birding, nature walking, biking, and camping. We want to educate, demonstrate, and show others that they too can become friends of the environment though low impact ecotourism activities.
We want to be the beacon not only to this underserved area in the Blackbelt but to schools, universities, outdoor groups, birding groups, and anyone that wants to be “One with Nature.” Our passion is to inspire all people to enjoy and protect wildlife and the habitat that they thrive in.
To date, we have hosted over 800+ visitors on our property. We have been featured in multiple magazines, blogs, podcasts, television segments, and even a birding show called Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper which is now streaming on Nat Geo Wild, Disney+, and other streaming services.
I also have merchandise available for purchase on my website at https://www.connectingwithbirdsandnaturetours.com/shop

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Building Partnerships
I was always observant of birds but I never wanted or thought about majoring in ornithology. When I looked into offering tours, I reached out to some wonderful people at Alabama Audubon. They were excited to come down to the farm and see how could we turn it into a birding destination.
The first tour I hosted was for members of their organization along with graduate students. That initial tour help propel us in to the radar of birders far and near.

2. Don’t be Afraid to Start
I still remember the night I filed for my EIN. I had the vision of making a safe space for people of all backgrounds to come and experience what I’ve been fortunate to grow up being immersed in nature.

3. Staying Consistent
From the time I started offering guided tours, to being flown across the county to speak at conferences, to being on National Geographic, I was always had the moniker of “Be ye consistent.” When I started this I knew that it would be to my advantage to keep going in the right direction. It continues to pay off by having more opportunities to tell our story to people needing to see that you don’t have to be afraid to be the first to do something.

These 3 things continue to help me grow as a person and business owner in the world of ecotourism.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

Located in the heart of the Black Belt of Alabama, this area has been stricken with poverty and lack of economic development. We want to be the beacon in this underserved area to be used by schools, church groups, minority communities, nature groups, birding groups, and anyone that wants to be “One with Nature.”
However, the biggest obstacle is obtaining finial support from grants, foundations, and organizations to allow me to grow the infrastructure that can support the amount of people and groups we can reach.

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