A 2015outdoor participation report by Outdoor Foundation found that, in 2014, 73 percent of Americans who participated in outdoor activities were White.
In
recent years, federal and state land-management agencies have been
collaborating with private outdoor groups and organizations on ways to
diversify wild and wide-open spaces—with a particular emphasis on the
next generation.
It’s simple math: Today’s young people, the most diverse generation in U.S. history, will determine the future of our public lands and waters. And if they never use these places, then they’ll feel no connection to them.
“There are those of us who understand the grand, memorable connections we can have: experiencing the giant sequoias, fishing for salmon during the salmon run, or gazing at a thunderous waterfall,” says Juan Martinez, the Los Angeles-based director of leadership development with the Children & Nature Network.
But there are so many who never get to make that connection.
This also was the theme of remarks this week by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in commemorating National Park Week in advance of Earth Day.
...The National Park Services has a complicated relationship with race, as many of its parks followed Jim Crow laws and remained segregated through World War II.
But that history, as well as Native American narratives about their connections to these open lands, is often missing from the stories told about our parks.
...Still, history is only one explanation for the lack of diversity in parks.
Studies show that despite documented psychological and health benefits, getting outdoors is less of a priority for many Americans busy with work and family obligations—regardless of race.
There are also negative associations with the wild: getting lost or being attacked. And some people of color believe there’s simply nothing out there for them.
For so long, images from these places—including of the park rangers who staff them—reinforced that belief because they seldom included people of color.
It’s simple math: Today’s young people, the most diverse generation in U.S. history, will determine the future of our public lands and waters. And if they never use these places, then they’ll feel no connection to them.
“There are those of us who understand the grand, memorable connections we can have: experiencing the giant sequoias, fishing for salmon during the salmon run, or gazing at a thunderous waterfall,” says Juan Martinez, the Los Angeles-based director of leadership development with the Children & Nature Network.
But there are so many who never get to make that connection.
This also was the theme of remarks this week by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in commemorating National Park Week in advance of Earth Day.
...The National Park Services has a complicated relationship with race, as many of its parks followed Jim Crow laws and remained segregated through World War II.
But that history, as well as Native American narratives about their connections to these open lands, is often missing from the stories told about our parks.
...Still, history is only one explanation for the lack of diversity in parks.
Studies show that despite documented psychological and health benefits, getting outdoors is less of a priority for many Americans busy with work and family obligations—regardless of race.
There are also negative associations with the wild: getting lost or being attacked. And some people of color believe there’s simply nothing out there for them.
For so long, images from these places—including of the park rangers who staff them—reinforced that belief because they seldom included people of color.
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