Creating Safe Spaces - First Roundtable

Creating Safe Spaces

First Roundtable

Recorded December 8, 2020

Moderated by Dr. Mamie Parker and David Mizejewski, and featuring Shelton Johnson (The National Park Service), Dr. Harrison Pickney (Clemson University), Dr. Chris Schell (University of Washington), Candice Price (Urban American Outdoors TV), Wayne Hubbard (Urban American Productions, LLC), Sanai Kintchen (The Links, Inc. Mentoring Program)

By recognizing the unique experiences that Black, Indigenous, people of color and individuals with varying abilities face in nature and the outdoors, we seek to launch a multi-year initiative that will be focused on engaging subgroups of individuals to elevate issues, concerns, and potential solutions that are tailored to address the unique challenges and barriers that varying identity groups face when safely accessing and enjoying the outdoors.

To initiate our multi-year efforts, in partnership with Outdoor Afro, Black AF in STEM and Patagonia, we seek to shed light on the challenges that Black people face in safely accessing outdoor green spaces. Through a series of regional roundtables culminating in a national townhall, The National Wildlife Federation and its partners hope to provide Black individuals with the opportunity to share their experiences in navigating green spaces, and identify inhibitors for Black people navigating the outdoors safely. We hope to utilize the lessons learned from these roundtables to develop a report highlighting the overarching issues that exist in this space, and ultimately leverage the voices of those who choose to share their experiences by hosting a briefing on Capitol Hill in 2021.

Thank you for your support of National Wildlife Federation’s mission to unite all Americans in ensuring wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world. Learn more about how our commitment to equity and justice are a core part of our conservation mission.