Letter – POC-led Environmental Organisations – Agents of Change

Published on 05/08/24

Dear Secretary of State

Congratulations on your new appointment. (And greetings from Croydon.)

We are writing as a collective of Environmental and Outdoors organisations led by people of colour.

Our organisations work nationally to increase the involvement of Black, Asian and ethnically minoritised people in nature activity; communities which have to date been less engaged and marginalised. Our programmatic themes include Conservation, Wildlife/Natural History, Nature Connection, Climate Action, Geography, Hiking, Bushcraft, Mental Health and Ecotherapy.

POC-led organisations have been at the forefront of driving diversity and inclusion initiatives in outdoor spaces, but have not always been included by larger ‘mainstream’ environmental organisations in policy influencing and decision-making arenas.

We’d love the opportunity to meet with you to outline the work that we have been doing to overcome barriers to access for marginalised groups and to help support the wider environmental sector in diversifying their programmes.

Our experience and success in creating strategies for nature engagement, drawing from in-depth research and consultation on the barriers, needs and wants of communities of colour can greatly benefit the wider sector.

One of our core shared challenges as POC-led organisations is a lack of access to funds, which impacts our ability to demonstrate leadership in the environmental field, offer entry positions into the sector and to amplify the perspectives of communities of colour in conversations about nature and conservation.

We believe progress on engaging a more diverse engagement with nature could be made more effectively, more quickly, reaching large numbers of communities of colour, if POC-led organisation were properly funded, and if we were not ourselves subject to marginalisation on the sides of the environmental field.

We would love to take our seat at the table in ensuring everyone feels welcome to access nature and to contribute to conversation and policy development on the protection and enjoyment of natural settings.

We’re looking forward to the soonest opportunity to meet with you.

Yours sincerely

Beth Collier, Director, Wild in the City, www.wildinthecity.org.uk

Dominique De Leon, Director, Ebony Hikers CIC www.ebonyhikers.co.uk

Manu Maunganidze, Director, Nature Youth Connection Education, www.nyce.org.uk

Donovan Grant, WalKing Men’s Group, www.thewalkingmen.com