Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Parks
Planning, Programming and Staffing to Better Serve All Residents
By Chris Gelbach
Finding community leaders who are themselves passionate about parks and the outdoors is particularly beneficial. "If there's somebody the community already trusts in place, whether it's a priest or physician or a business owner who believe in the mission and vision of the recreation department, now you've got a conduit," said Juan Caraveo, diversity and inclusion consultant for USA Swimming. "Now you've got an advocate in that community who's going to be a voice to promote your programing."
When engaging underserved communities through programming, it's also important to focus on offering high-quality, high-value programs. Caraveo sees a few common barriers preventing underserved communities from learning to swim, for instance. "What our business development department found is that lack of access to the physical pool is not as prevalent as the expense of the programming—maybe they're priced out of those communities," Caraveo said.
In fact, while USA Swimming research has shown that 64 percent of African-American, 45 percent of Hispanic/Latino and 40 percent of Caucasian children have little to no swimming ability, 79 percent of children overall who live in households with incomes less than $50,000 have little to no swimming ability. But providing affordable swimming instruction is not enough.
Over the past two years of travel at the grassroots level as part of his job, Caraveo has also learned through speaking to many families that the quality of the programming is also a barrier. "I've had multiple conversations with families in the park, and I've asked them, 'Do you take your kids to swim?' And they say, 'Yeah, I took them to the city swim lessons. We stopped because we had 10 kids in the class and there was a 16-year-old who had no idea what they were doing teaching the lessons.'"
According to Caraveo, these families say that money is tight, but that they're willing to pay if the programming is good. "I think it would be in the interest of rec departments to really do an inventory of their programs," he said. He recommends evaluating both the pre-hiring and ongoing professional development of staff, whether the department even looks at swim teachers as a professional position, and at student-teacher ratios to make sure they're acceptable. "And ask perhaps the biggest question: If I had a child, would I want my kid to be in that lesson?" Caraveo said.
Single-Identity Outdoors and Environmental Organizations
Below are some examples of organizations that offer single-identity programming or that focus on specific communities and their relationships to the outdoors, conservation or environmentalism, as identified on a recent Avarna Group blog entry:
Single-Identity Programs
Conservation Legacy's Ancestral Lands Conservation Crews: 17 different programs operating nationally and at the local level to engage Native youth and young adults in meaningful conservation projects on Native lands. www.conservationlegacy.org/ancestrallands
Northwest Youth Corps Queer Inclusion Crew: Gives queer youth and young adults work opportunities in the great outdoors in a fun team-based learning environment that emphasizes personal growth and stewardship.
Idaho Conservation Corps' Women's Crew: An innovative AmeriCorps program that provides hands-on training and experience to women interested in pursuing employment with conservation corps, land and water resource management agencies, and other outdoor careers. www.Idahocc.org/OurPrograms/WomensCrew
Sierra Club's Military Family and Veteran's Programs: A variety of programs help foster development of a new generation of Sierra Club leaders and give service members, veterans and families the skills, exposure, knowledge and confidence to access the great outdoors. http://content.sierraclub.org/outings/military/military-families-and-veterans
Outdoor Organizations Focused on Specific Communities
Outdoor Afro: A network that celebrates African-American connections and leadership in nature, with more than 60 leaders in 28 states www.outdoorafro.com
Green Latinos: A national nonprofit that convenes Latino leaders to address environmental and conservation issues that significantly affect the health and welfare of the U.S. Latino community www.greenlatinos.org
Green Muslims: A source in the Muslim community for spiritually inspired environmental education, reflection and action that engages locally while serving as a national resource. www.greenmuslims.org
Black Freedom Outfitters: An organization that curates unique outdoor adventures that provide one-of-a-kind experiences for black people to explore and lead in the great outdoors www.blackfreedomoutfitters.com
Latino Outdoors: A Latino-led organization that connects Latino communities and leadership with nature and outdoor experiences as part of an effort to create a national community of leaders in conservation and outdoor education. www.latinooutdoors.org
Venture Out Project: An organization that brings the queer community together to experience the beauty and fun of the wilderness through a variety of trips run by queer people for queer people
OUT There Adventures: An adventure education organization committed to fostering positive identity development, individual empowerment and improved quality of life for queer young people through professionally facilitated experiential education activities www.outthereadventures.org
Women's Wilderness: An organization that strengthens the courage, confidence and leadership qualities of girls and women through the challenge and support of group wilderness and community-based experiences www.womenswilderness.org