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Diversity Resources in the Outdoors, Science, & Environmental Justice

(these links leave DEC website)

These articles, podcasts, and blogs center the voices* of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), Latino/a, and Latinx, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other identities (LGBTQ+) and their experiences in the outdoors and in nature. Some offer tips for allies to help make the outdoors and nature more inclusive, while some just highlight the different experiences all people have out in nature. Each of them broadens the outdoor and nature narrative and helps us see the world in a new light, offering perspectives different than our own. Some articles also highlight the works of scientists history never spoke of until now.

*What does "center the voices" mean? It means putting voices of groups who are often unheard or only heard from on a limited basis up front and center to be heard more. It is a practice used now to share platforms and raise up silent perspectives.

Articles

Podcasts

Blogs

  • Black Perspectives (African American Intellectual History Society's award-winning blog) launched a new interdisciplinary series, #BlackEcologies, and will bring together work from various scholars in Black Studies about the enduring proximity between Black communities and environmental catastrophe, as well as Black peoples' efforts to resist ecocide intellectually, politically, and in practice.

Science Educators Working Toward Diversity

Curriculum

  • The Wilderness Society's "Public Lands in the US" curriculum. The "Public Lands in the United States" curriculum aims to build connections between people and America's natural landscapes, which are visited by millions of people each year to relax, engage in ceremonial activities, recreate, connect with nature and escape the stresses of everyday life. Beyond that, TWS wants people to have a complete and accurate understanding of the history and context surrounding these places and the movement to protect public lands. TWS especially wants to reinforce the knowledge that the public lands we love today were once Indigenous lands, and that the actions taken to "conserve" them have sometimes been exclusionary, insensitive or engineered to benefit only a privileged few.
  • Zinn Education Project: The goal of the Zinn Education Project is to introduce students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of United States history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. The empowering potential of studying U.S. history is often lost in a textbook-driven trivial pursuit of names and dates. People's history materials and pedagogy emphasize the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social movements in shaping history. Students learn that history is made not by a few heroic individuals, but instead by people's choices and actions, thereby also learning that their own choices and actions matter. ZEP believes that by taking a more engaging and more honest look at the past, we can help equip students with the analytical tools to make sense of - and improve - the world today.
  • Underrepresentation Curriculum Project: modular, student-centered curriculum designed to examine & address equity and inclusion in science.
  • *FEE for screening but trailers are free to view* Global Environmental Justice Documentaries Collection: 25 documentaries and teacher guides.

Centering Voices of Diversity in Outdoor Adventures

While DEC cannot endorse any of these organizations, our staff does try to partner with them for events and recommends reaching out to them to get involved with their events and activities, especially if you work with similar audiences. They have great leaders who offer help and tips, provide safe spaces, and just a great group of like-minded people who share a love for the outdoors. This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are groups for mountain bikers, indoor climbers, rock climbers, cyclists, runners, snowboarders, and skiers, plus many other outdoor sports. Some are national groups with local chapters or programs so also look for a local program!

Webinars on Environmental Justice

Resources on Environmental Justice

Organizations Involved with Environmental Justice

Local & State

National & International

Diversifying Leads in Nature & Outdoor Children's Books

Specific Books & Series

  • Big Fish Dreams by Lori Peelen
  • Justin Scott Parr has a few series (some are in English & Spanish) for a few age groups that explore science and math. Ben & Sage are the two main characters for younger ages. Sage grows up for young adults, for the Sage Carrington series.

Research

Populations Using Public Lands

  1. USDA's US Forest Service Rocky Mtn Research Station. Science You Can Use Bulletin May/June 2018 Issue 30: Recreating in Color: Promoting Ethnic Diversity in Public Lands
  2. Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, Sportfish Restoration, & Responsive Management. Actionable Strategies for Angler Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation. Grant Number F18AP00165. 2020.

Collecting Historical & Contemporary Narratives from Black Communities

  1. Roane, J.T. & Hosbey, J. Mapping Black Ecologies. Current Research in Digital History. 2. 2019. ISSN 2637-5923.

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