- Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) individuals support environmental protection at a higher rate than white people
- 36-42% of the U.S. population are BIPOC, but only 16% of environmental nonprofit staff are BIPOC, and only 12% of those individuals are in leadership positions.
Research has shown that people of color may be more concerned than their white counterparts about climate change and other environmental issues because they are often more exposed and vulnerable to environmental hazards, air pollution, water pollution, and extreme weather events.
So why, then, are so many environmental organizations still so homogenous?
One reason is that BIPOC employees are often shut out of opportunities because we may not be seen as “professional” (to a white standard), and our organizations may be conditioned not to upskill or support us. Our contributions and knowledge that are culturally derived may not be considered “scientific” or “unbiased” (until it’s found, decades or centuries later, to be so by peer-review studies). And then there’s just plain racism and the denial that we could be racist because we’re nonprofits — we do good works.
Here are some things you can do to envision and bring equity to the outdoors and nonprofits you navigate:
Support/Follow:
Here are some organizations, local and national, to follow and support that work towards equity, inclusion, and access in the outdoors:
- Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center – providing adaptive sports programs to individuals including adaptive winter ski and snowboard programs at Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain Ski Resorts, and summer programs on local rivers, lakes, bike paths, and an adaptive ropes course.
- Brown Folks Fishing – a community-based organizations that is by and for BIPOC anglers. They cultivate a community, build a movement to expand access, and participate in storytelling, grassroots organizing, events, and community-building.
- Colorado Blackpackers – providing gear, outdoor excurisions and outdoor education for free or at subsidized costs and connecting participants with volunteer opportunities, internships, jobs, and post-secondary education resources to create a pipeline from outdoor recreation to outdoor industry careers.
- GirlTrek: Healthy Black Women and Girls – pioneering a health movement for Black women and girls grounded in civil rights history and principles through walking capaigns, community leadership, and health advocacy.
- Defiende Nuestra Tierra – increasing the baseline knowledge of public lands and hteir management, expanding Latinx participation in public lands management processes, and focusing on specific concerns of local Latinx communities.
- Disabled Hikers – building disability community and an outdoors culture transformed by fair representation, accessibility, and justice for disabled and all other marginalized outdoors people.
- Diversify Outdoors – promoting diversity in outdoor spaces where people of color, LGBTIQA2+, and other diverse identities have historically been underrepresented.
- Environment Americas – connects diverse people to birds and nature and inspires the next generation of conservationists by connecting diverse people to nature and to the protection of birds and their habitats.
- Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) – reaching out to students who have been traditionally overlooked and under-encouraged in science and science-related careers, most notably, youth of color, LGBTIQA2+, and girls.
- Green Latinos – convening a broad coalition of Latino leaders committed to addressing national, regional, and local environmental, natural resources, and conservation issues that significantly affect the health and welfare of the U.S. Latino community.
- Greening Youth Foundation – engaging underrepresented youth a nd young adults, while connecting them to the outdoors and careers in conservation.
- Hispanic Access Foundation – helping Latinos build their financial literacy, explore new workforce opportunities, become environmental stewards or advocate for one’s health.
- Hunters of Color – creating accessible, equitable opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and all people of color (BIPOC) in conservation and hunting by dismantling barriers to entry through educational opportunities, mentorship, and providing resources.
- Inclusive Outdoors Project – hosting events that bridge the gap between affinity spaces and outdoor based organizations to grow culturally cohesive practices and spaces within the greater outdoor narrative.
- Latino Outdoors – inspiring, connecting, and engaging Latino communities in the outdoors and embracing cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative, ensuring our history, heritage, and leadership are valued and represented.
- Native Womens Wilderness – inspiring and raising the voices of Native women in the outdoor realm to encourage a healthy lifestyle within the wilderness and provide an education of the Ancestral Lands and its people.
- Next 100 Coalition – an inclusive vision for the next 100 years of conservation and stewardship in America.
- Next 100 Colorado – committed to the establishment of a just and inclusive parks and public lands system.
- Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project – ensuring that marginalized communities have access to the outdoors and that our history, values, and people are authentically reflected in public lands management.
- Outdoor Afro – celebrating and inspiring Black connections and leadership in nature.
- Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E. – building momentum for the creation of a national equity fund that will ensure long-term investments in programs to serve all youth with opportunities to explore the great outdoors.
- Outdoor Asian – creating a diverse and inclusive community of Asian and Pacific Islands in the outdoors.
- Outdoorist Oath – an action-based commitment to planet, inclusion, and adventure. It offers tools/education for inquiry, a shareable education model, and the hub for a community that cares to build a better future.
- People of the Global Majority in the Outdoors, Nature, and Environment (PGM ONE) – PGM ONE envisions a world that centers, values, uplifts, and empowers those who are most impacted by environmental harm and climate change—and in particular Black, Indigenous, and people of color/of the global majority—to lead the way toward environmental justice and collective liberation.
- Radical Adventure Riders – a movement towards gender inclusivity and racial equity in cycling and the outdoors.
- Rising Routes – elevating diverse communities and collaborating with partners to spark public action toward social and environmental resilience.
- Sierra Club Outdoors for All – expanding universal access to nature for children and youth, as well as empowering veterans to continue their service in protecting the land they defend.
- Spirit of the Sun — empowering Native communities, one youth at a time.
- The Venture Out Project – leading backpacking and wilderness trips for the queer and transgender community.
- Womxn from the Mountain – empowering holistic needs through equity, transformative education, and culturally responsive healing arts.
Read:
For BIPOC Individuals:
- “BIPOC Outdoor Resource Guide,” courtesy of Eugene Young Pak, Melanin Base Camp
For White Allies and Accomplices:
- “How green groups became so white and what to do about it,” by Diane Toomey, Yale Environment 360.
- “Why environmentalists must make more space for BIPOC, and how we should do it,” by Leesa Ko, The Years Project.
- “Why we must teach the ugly side of public lands history and a tool to help,” courtesy of The Wilderness Society
- “The Melanin Base Camp Guide to Outdoor Allyship,” by Danielle Williams, Melanin Base Camp.
- “Holding yourself accountable for your allyship,” by Maria Rio, Community-Centric Fundraising.
For Adults:
- “Diversity in the Great Outdoors: Is Everyone Welcome in America’s Parks and Public Lands,” by Reyna Askew and Margaret A. Walls
- “Public Space, Park Space, and Racialized Space,” by Kangjae “Jerry” Lee, Ph.D.
- “Environmentalism’s Racist History,” by Jedediah Purdy.
- “Racism is Killing the Planet: The ideology of white supremacy leads the way toward disposable people and a disposable natural world,” by Hop Hopkins.
For Kids:
- A list of diverse outdoor books by Tales of a Mountain Mama
- A list of own voices stories books by Parents for Diversity
For Nonoprofit and Outdoor Industry Leaders:
- “An Open Letter to the Outdoor Industry on Diversity,” by Teresa Baker.
- “How environmental organizations can cultivate real inclusivity,” by Ambika Chawla, YES! Magazine.
- “How green groups became so white and what to do about it,” by Diane Toomey, Yale Environment 360.
- “The numbers don’t lie: the green movement remains overwhelmingly white, report finds,” Erik Ortiz, NBC News.
- “Why environmentalists must make more space for BIPOC, and how we should do it,” by Leesa Ko, The Years Project.
- “White-led organizations: here are three keys to incorporating racial equity in strategic planning,” by Renee Rubin Ross, Community-Centric Fundraising.
- “Cultivate talent with the same energy level you cultivate gifts — especially with your BIPOC support staff,” by Priscilla Lopez, Community-Centric Fundraising.
- “White supremacy culture in professional spaces is toxic — to dismantle it, we must first be willing to name it,” by Ashley Lugo, Community-Centric Fundraising.
- “Racism is Killing the Planet: The ideology of white supremacy leads the way toward disposable people and a disposable natural world,” by Hop Hopkins.
Do:
For All Adults:
- Take action with Spirit of the Sun and send a letter to Governor Polis, Colorado Department of Health and Environment, and the EPA asking them to shutdown Suncor for good! SunCor Energy, a Canadian-run company, runs an oil refinery north of Denver, Colorado. Suncor is Colorado’s only oil refinery and one of our largest emitters of greenhouse gasses and toxic air pollutants, and has been operating without any changes to its procedures or pollution controls for years. In spite of numerous enforcement actions and settlements, Suncor continues to flout air quality laws, putting neighboring communities — who are primarily BIPOC and low income — at extreme risk. Suncor has no regard for human or non-human life and will continue to harm our communities if action is not taken.
- Donate to Spirit of the Sun’s efforts to combat Suncor’s harmful impacts through their Mycelium Program which trains their community members to inoculate the soil in their communities and throughout Native land with networks of mycelium to restore the health of our soil systems.
For BIPOC Individuals:
- Join Next 100 Colorado’s BIPOC Affinity Space! Some environmental and outdoor nonprofits and groups in Colorado have enough employees, and employees of color, to create affinity groups or employee resource groups to share joy, struggles, resources, and ask for assistance navigating the spaces they are in. These groups help employees not feel alone while helping their employer with recruitment, retention, and help to provide support for marginalized employees.
Some nonprofits in Colorado don’t have that kind of support, and some have only one marginalized employee. This can lead to isolation and a lack of people power in situations when having a “second” would help in bringing inclusion and equity issues to the forefront. In some cases, it can cause Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) talent to leave the environmental nonprofit sector altogether in search of spaces that more readily accept, protect, and celebrate them.
Next 100 Colorado has created a community of BIPOC who work in the environmental and outdoor fields, and have created a bi-monthly Affinity Space to fill that void! - Join Next 100 Colorado! Next 100 Colorado invites people who readily identify as Black, Indigenous, or other affiliated Persons of Color (BIPOC) who focus on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in public lands through work that promotes Next 100 Colorado’s mission to establish a more just and inclusive public lands system by championing workforce diversity, access for and engagement with BIPOC communities, and representation of the complex history of the U.S.
For Individuals From Marginalized Genders:
- Join the Gender Advancement and Parity in STEM (GAPS) Mentorship Program! The GAPS program supports our work to reduce gender bias in our field through mentorship and internships for people from marginalized genders. We’re taking applications for our mentorship program! The mentorship program connects emerging and more seasoned environmentalists and scientists from marginalized genders together to network, support, and build capacity.
For White Allies and Accomplices:
- Join Next 100 Colorado as an ally! Next 100 Colorado works toward, and is committed to, a just and inclusive parks and public lands system. The structures that created and continue to maintain barriers to this goal include white supremacy, colonialism, hetero-patriarchy, ableism, and other systems of oppression. Therefore, our work requires addressing these systems of oppression as they manifest in the outdoors and associated state, local, and federal policies as they affect Colorado. To successfully achieve these goals we seek members and allies alike that support this transformational work.
- Take the Outdoorist Oath workshop, sign the Oath, live the Oath, and shape the future of the outdoors!
- Take the Angling for All Pledge. Complete the Angling for All curriculum, create, and commit to a plan of action.
- “Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: 26 Ways (& More) to be an Ally in the Outdoor Industry,” courtesy of Brown Gal Trekker.
- Take action with Spirit of the Sun and send a letter to Governor Polis, Colorado Department of Health and Environment, and the EPA asking them to shutdown Suncor for good! SunCor Energy, a Canadian-run company, runs an oil refinery north of Denver, Colorado. Suncor is Colorado’s only oil refinery and one of our largest emitters of greenhouse gasses and toxic air pollutants, and has been operating without any changes to its procedures or pollution controls for years. In spite of numerous enforcement actions and settlements, Suncor continues to flout air quality laws, putting neighboring communities — who are primarily BIPOC and low income — at extreme risk. Suncor has no regard for human or non-human life and will continue to harm our communities if action is not taken.
- Donate to Spirit of the Sun’s efforts to combat Suncor’s harmful impacts through their Mycelium Program which trains their community members to inoculate the soil in their communities and throughout Native land with networks of mycelium to restore the health of our soil systems.
Listen and Watch:
For Adults:
- “The Challenge of Diversity in the Environmental Movement.” Dr. Dorceta Taylor, the Senior Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Yale School of the Environment, reads her poem about being black in the environment and the environment movement, which is animated in this video. CW: a loud shot, anti-Blackness, anti-Black violence, threats, murder, and murder by police. (9 minutes)
- “Belonging in the Outdoors Roundtable.” In this live roundtable, marginalized Coloradans discussed why they do or do not feel invited, welcome, or safe recreating in Colorado’s public lands, working in the environmental or outdoors industries, or participating in community science without critical mass; how those that do began to, and what those who don’t need to. The panelists for this event were Amber Mohammad Castańeda (she/her), Coal Creek Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, Andrea Cota Avila (she/her) from Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, Chris Talbot-Heindl (they/them) from Rocky Mountain Wild, Crystal Egli (she/her) from Inclusive Journeys, and Robbin Meneses (él/he/him) from Latino Outdoors, Colorado Team. (112 minutes)
- “CommuniTy Science: One Trans Person’s Trip to Loveland Pass to Study Pikas.” In it, Chris Talbot-Heindl (they/them) talks about why they avoid going out into nature by themself as a trans nonbinary individual. And how their accomplice Megan Mueller (she/her) took them out to Loveland Pass to study pikas and complete a pika survey! (24 minutes)
- Belonging: An Outside Voices Podcast Mini-Series. “Belonging” features four individuals who identify as immigrants or first-generation, and shares stories about their personal and cultural connections to the outdoors. Featured in this mini-series: Noami Grevemberg, Francis Mendoza, Pınar Sinopoulos-Lloyd, and Dr. Cristal Cisneros.
For Kids:
- Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman reads “Talking Gets Us There” (2 minutes)
- PBS Kids Talk about Race and Racism (28 minutes)
- PBS Kids Talk about Standing Up for Yourself & Others (11 minutes)
Join us for the rest of the Colorado Endangered Species Week events!