Encouraging Young People Of Color To Join The Environmental Movement
Over the last few decades, there has been increasing awareness of the importance of introducing young people to nature. Not only are kids who spend time in nature happier and healthier, they are also much more likely to grow into environmentally conscious adults.
Understanding environmental issues is especially important for minority children, who are often disproportionately affected by climate change. For instance, African Americans living in Los Angeles are almost twice as likely to die as other Los Angelenos during a heat wave, California's predominantly Latino agricultural workforce suffer economic hardship as climate change affects farm product production, and minorities across the country continue to be harmed by dirtier air than other Americans.
And yet, the most recent data from US Forest Service, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service shows a deep inequality in the ethnic and racial mix of visitors to our public lands. In fact, African Americans comprise only 1 to 1.2 percent of all visitors to outdoor public land and Hispanic/Latinos between 3.8 and 6.7 percent. Without access to parks and other outdoor spaces, young people of color are deprived of the opportunity for deeper understanding and a lifelong connection to nature.
Why aren’t there more non-white visitors to National Parks?
Researchers and outdoor enthusiasts have identified several factors that have contributed to the lack of diversity in National Parks and nature in general.
Affordability and Access: In 2016, the median wealth for black and Hispanic families was $17,600 and $20,700, respectively, compared with white families’ median wealth of $171,000. This enormous gap in wealth plays a significant role in limiting nature access for minority families. Visiting National parks can be expensive and time consuming. For people who rely on hourly work with little or no vacation time, a trip to distant parks may be almost impossible. Even state parks, which may be closer to home, often have entrance fees. Also, a lot of outdoor recreation activities such as camping, skiing, or golfing require expensive equipment that lower income families may not be able to afford.
Early Childhood Experiences: Research on environmental education programs shows that youth with more experience in nature exhibit stronger personal relationships to nature and are more likely to express the need to protect the environment compared with youth with less outdoor experience. Because many minority parents grew up in cities, they may not have had the opportunity to develop a love of nature or the understanding of how important it is to childhood development.
Cultural Factors: David Scott and KangJae Jerry Lee wrote in the George Wright Forum in 2018 that cultural factors provide people with a “template” about the kinds of outdoor recreation—and leisure more generally—they feel they need to conform to. The fact that National Park visitors are predominantly white may make people of color feel as though they are unwelcome.
Discrimination and White Racial Frames. Before the 1964 Civil Rights Act, African Anericans were either segregated or banned completely from public recreation sites. Even today, park exhibits and historical information primarily feature white people. This history of racism, combined with the fact that there continues to be a profound lack of diversity among park employees, means that public spaces remain inaccessible to many people of color.
Historical Trauma and Concerns of Physical Safety: A 2018 study asked participants to describe why African Americans might be fearful of visiting forests. 66 percent of participants mentioned the association between nature and the historical trauma of slavery and lynchings. IIn this paper, 19 year old Pharaoh explains: “. . . So, nature is not something for Black people, um they killed us a lot in nature. They would do a lot of wild things, like plantations . . . . Yeah they would hang us in trees, so maybe that’s why black people don’t go to the forest, don’t want to see a tree.”
How do we make our parks and natural spaces more diverse?
There are a number of organizations working hard to diversify the outdoors, many of them led by young people of color. It’s important to support the hard work that they’re doing and include these young leaders in the ongoing dialogue and movement for change.
Here are some organizations and programs working to increase diversity:
There are also several Audubon programs designed to connect kids of all different backgrounds to nature. These organizations and programs, together with ongoing discussions and legislation, are all important components in providing all kids access to the emotional, mental, and physical benefits of nature.
Image by @CJ McLendon