Engaging the Whole Community in Restoration: Considerations for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Outdoor Stewardship
David Fulton-Beale1, Jackie Curry2
1Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, Longmont, Colorado, USA, david@wlrv.org
2Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, Longmont, Colorado, USA, jackie@wlrv.org
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV) is a nonprofit based on the Front Range of Colorado. Over the past 20 years, we have been working to engage volunteers in stewardship of public, protected, and ecologically significant lands across Colorado and beyond, and have grown to engage thousands of volunteers on over 150 projects each year. In this presentation we will be sharing different techniques and actions WRV is taking to address barriers to outdoor recreation and restoration opportunities for underrepresented communities. As an organization, we are working on identifying and dismantling these barriers because we recognize that having a diverse volunteer community will strengthen and enrich our mission of building community and healing the land. While we do not have all of the answers, we will outline some of the steps we are taking to build a more inclusive community and our experience starting this process. We hope that we can help organizations learn from our experience and engage in this work in their communities.