Taurean Meacham’s Post

Transcript

Hello everyone. I'm excited to share an important update from the diversity joint venture for Careers and Conservation. Under new leadership, the DJV is moving forward with a renewed commitment to expanding equitable opportunities and conservation for all communities. Today, we'll be diving into the goals of the DJV, the progress we've made, and how we're shaping the future of conservation careers to be more inclusive and accessible. But first, I'm thrilled to announce that we've welcomed 3 new incredible members to the DJ. The Advisory Board, all of whom bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in conservation and equity work. 1st is Doctor Arena Boycott Area founder and Executive Director of the Conservation Collaborative. Rena has spent her career building programs that create cross sector partnerships to solve environmental issues, especially in marginalized communities. Her approach to conservation focuses on fostering diverse perspectives and engaging underrepresented voices and policy and decision making processes. Next is Doctor Diana Don Crider, President of the Animal Partnership and Natural Resources and coordinator for the Native American Range Lands Partnership. Diana brings decades of experience working with Indigenous communities on conservation issues. Her leadership in sustainable Land Management and cultural preservation will help guide DJ V as we seek to expand our work with tribal communities and ensure. Their voices are central to conservation efforts. Next is Doctor Mariam Cameron, the director of inclusion and diversity at the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech Mariam is a pioneer in creating inclusive pathways for students entering the conservation field. Her work focuses on diversifying conservation careers through education, mentorship, and professional development. Which perfectly aligns with our goals at DJV. Together, these leaders will help us broaden our approach to conservation, ensuring that equity is embedded at every DJV. We're dedicated to expanding the perspective of what a conservation career can be. Historically, conservation has often been seen through a narrow lens, but the truth is conservation spans across multiple sectors, whether it's. Environmental science, policy advocacy, cultural heritage preservation, or even technology, There's room for everyone in this movement. Our goal is to make sure underrepresented communities, those who have often been left out of the conservation conversation, have equitable access to these careers. How do we do this, though? Through programs that engage young people at an early age, offer mentorship, and provide direct pipelines. To leadership roles and conservation. One of our key initiatives is the Preschool to Park Ranger pipeline, a concept that focuses on engaging young minds and conservation early on, making it a natural part of their world. Take for example, the National Park Services Junior Ranger Program. Programs like these, which include interactive tools such as their Curiosity kits, spark a lifelong interest in conservation. And I've seen this first hand with my own daughter Sabbatia, who recently earned her first Junior Ranger badge by fostering early engagement where planting the seeds for future environmental stewards. And so a preview of the curiosity kits that I mentioned. They are amazing teaching tools that we can use to teach our youth at every level about pioneers who have participated in the curation. Of the American conservation story and building this great nation. And so as you go through and see some of the materials that are available to not only our educators, but our outreach leaders as well, we have the ability to teach American history through an eco cultural perspective. But this is just not about inspiring young people. We're also working to breakdown the barriers to access that have long existed in conservation careers. Whether through partnerships with schools. Nonprofits or community organizations. We're ensuring that opportunities reach the communities that need them. And so a cornerstone of our work at the DJV has been the development of equity action plans. Tangible, actionable strategies designed to create real change in these plans are based on a few key principles. One was addressing historical injustices and we look to include historical policies that have excluded certain communities from environmental decision making processes and craft solutions to correct those injustices. For example, policies that previously restricted public access to lands for people of color are addressed by working with federal agencies to ensure that conservation opportunities. Are now widely accessible. The next was community centered solutions. Now we don't impose solutions, we Co create them. With the communities most affected. By involving local leaders, we ensure that the changes we implement are both sustainable and impactful. The next was expanding career pathways and we're rethinking what it means to have a career in conservation through partnerships with universities, vocational schools, and grassroots organizations where providing training in everything from wildlife management to policy advocacy to ensure that anyone interested can find their place in this field and these actions paired with our DJV resource locker. And information network. Allow us to provide real time resources. Real time training and real time connections to community leaders across the country. And it's not just about creating opportunities, but also about sustaining them and ensuring that leaders from all backgrounds have the tools that they need to succeed. And So what we have right here is our DJV resource locker, which is a part of our DJV information network. And so some of the resources that we discussed. Conservation career guys often we're asked about how do you enter this world of conservation well, our amazing partner taking youth outdoors has created. Conservation career guides which can help walk you through the basics. Of how to get a conservation career. From what kind of regional agencies there are at the various levels? How to find relevant local agencies and job openings? How to consider all your options for entering the world of conservation and state specific resources. For those seeking more information. Another thing that we have inside the resource locker. Or Dina toolkits. So we have outreach and engagement material that we can share within agencies and other organizations to show them how we do targeted recruiting to diverse audiences and also share our contacts, strategies, best practices and lessons learned. And we have this not only for our. Department of Interior organizations, but also every organization that provides resources to the DJ V and we also have another version and the Microsoft Teams community that everyone that has a mobile phone or a tablet or a laptop can access by joining the JV information network. Even if you wanted to teach folks about community wide actions that they could take in order to reduce the effect of heat islands, we have that as well, provided by our partners at the Environmental Protection Agency. And so that's just a small preview. Of what you have access to inside the DJV. Information Network. And our shared resource locker. 2nd. While equity is an ongoing journey. We've seen some significant wins recently that I'd love to highlight. And so the first is the 10 minute walk initiative. And so a study by the Trust for Public Land revealed that 100 million people in the United States don't have access to a park within a 10 minute walk of their home. Thanks to advocacy by community leaders and partnerships with local governments, cities like Atlanta and Los Angeles have recently expanded green spaces and underserved neighborhoods, ensuring that access to nature is more equitable. The second thing we'll talk about reparations of lands to Native communities. So the Land Back movement has made strides in returning stolen lands to Indigenous communities and 2023. The Onondaga Nation in New York regained control of sacred lands along Onondaga Lake, a significant environmental and cultural wind for the community. The third thing we can talk about our environmental justice grants. In early 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency awarded $100 million in grants specifically for environmental justice projects in underrepresented communities. These funds will directly impact areas disproportionately affected by pollution, climate change, and industrial practices, offering them the resources needed to address. These challenges, the fourth thing that we can talk about conservation job growth among people of color. According to a report from the Environmental Defense Fund, the number of people of color entering conservation fields have increased by 30% in the last five years, thanks in part to mentorship programs and equity initiatives like those supported by the DJ V. And the 5th and final thing we'll talk about our community LED conservation. Efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, grass roots organizations led efforts to restore ecosystems and rebuild infrastructure using conservation as a framework. By involving local leaders, Puerto Rico has become a model of how community driven conservation can create both environmental and economic resilience. Before we wrap, UI want to leave you all with some questions to think about. And these are not just for reflection, but for action. And I encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments or reach out to continue to the conversation. And the first question will be. What actions can we take in our local communities to make conservation careers more accessible to underrepresented groups? The second question is how can we use programs like the Junior Ranger Initiative to create pipelines that guide young people from diverse backgrounds into conservation leadership roles? The third question. What historical barriers and conservation do you believe are still standing, and what innovative solutions can we implement to dismantle them? In the 4th and final question. How can the corporate and nonprofit sectors work together to ensure that environmental justice remains at the forefront of conservation efforts? Your voices matter. Whether you're a student, professional, or community leader, we can all contribute to a more equitable and inclusive conservation future. And thank you for joining me in this important discussion about equity and conservation. And I'm excited about the future of the DJV and the steps we're taking together to build more inclusive pathways for all. I encourage you to get involved, whether through our resource network, by mentoring the next generation of leaders, or simply by sharing your knowledge and ideas with us. Let's continue to build a world where conservation belongs to everyone. Make sure to follow DJV and stay tuned for more updates as we continue this journey together. Thank you for your time. Take care.