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Re-Establish Diversity and Inclusion in Environmental Locations (REDIEL)

2022-1-CY02-KA153-YOU-0000519012022Mobility of youth workersfinalizedGood practice
Countries: CY|RO|BG|HR|EE|MK|LV|LT|PT · Grant: €33,963
Inclusion of marginalised young peoplePreventing radicalisationGreen skills

Objectives

Our project emphasized on re-establishing diversity and inclusion in environmental locations. The project consisted of an effort to achieve the following objectives: 1. Examined how discrimination consisted of many layers. 2. Examined discrimination in outdoor spaces. 3. Evaluated the ways by which nature was inherently diverse and inclusive. 4. Examined diverse and inclusive environmental locations. 5. Fostered innovation in relation to environmentally accessible locations. 6. Stimulated interest in Diversity, Inclusion, and the Environment. 7. Fostered teamwork, trust in others, and innovation. In 2020, National Geographic reported that people of colour were three times more likely than white people to live in areas without immediate access to nature. According to Goodrid (2018), 70% of the U.S. population who visited national forests, national wildlife refuges, and national parks were white, whereas Black people remain underrepresented in these spaces. Numerous explanations were given for this phenomenon, but the most prevalent was that of historical racial discrimination. Racial oppression from the past continues to stalk our society, as does the significant income disparity between people of colour and white people. People of colour have higher unemployment rates and lower income levels, which means they have less disposable income for outdoor activities, walks in nature, and vacations. Meanwhile, women and members of the LGBTQ community frequently reported feeling unwelcome or unsafe in outdoor spaces. This may also have been a result of these groups' underrepresentation in the outdoor industry workforce. At the same time, the lack of diversity and inclusion in environmental locations was certainly not the sole need of contemporary society. As society becomes increasingly digital and absorbed by technology, this dichotomy between 'US' and 'THEM' in outdoor spaces contributes to reinforcing the "nature-deficit disorder" (a term coined by Richard Louv). Why is this a problem? Nature is widely researched, accepted, and suggested to improve mental health, stress levels, and cognitive abilities, to name a few. Additionally, if greater efforts are not made to engage current and future generations, support for environmental public spaces, parks, and the environment, in general, might vanish. At a time when attempts are made to protect the environment due to climate change, attention should be paid to promoting diverse environmental locations and diversifying those that are not. As a result of the aforementioned issues, we addressed the following core needs: 1. Need for more diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. 2. Need for more environmentally accessible locations. 3. Need for more diverse and inclusive outdoor, environmental locations. These needs turned out to be the primary objectives of the project. Our project intended to spread awareness about this issue, delineating the importance of the environment for the individual, as well as why environmental locations are naturally diverse and inclusive. We focused on examining the different layers discrimination has as well as altering the false narrative that fuels these layers. In our effort to do this, we started with activities that delineated what kind of actions, words, and movements were subconsciously discriminatory, giving participants the opportunity to exchange their views on this issue. Emotional awareness was very important for anticipating discrimination, as individuals should have been able to comprehend what discrimination truly is. Participants came to experience how diversity and inclusion was applicable in outdoor spaces through our workshop that took place in the diverse Multifunctional Park (Molos) through the presence of a professional PhD guest in the area. In this way, individuals first comprehended the issue of underlying discrimination bias, then observed the solution in diverse environmentally-friendly locations, and finally, began generating and implementing their own ideas in their own locations. To summarize, “Re-establish Diversity and Inclusion in Environmental Locations (REDIEL)” was an initiative that focused on diversity, inclusion, empathy, mindfulness, and the environment. Due to the historical oppression of people of colour people and women, there is a subconscious bias against minorities that many people are unaware of. Discrimination, which is frequently observed in outdoor spaces, is a myth created by humankind. In our Training, we aimed to demythologize this false narrative through activities, workshops, and seminars that focused on emotional awareness, mindfulness, and outdoor activities.

Project partners (9)