Gather Together for Community and Nature

A pre-pandemic community gathering for greening (Green Tacoma Day, 2019). Copyright: Hannah Letinich.

You might be tired of hearing about what a long and challenging year it has been, but it has been a long and challenging year. We still need to help each other out. Thankfully, helping others also helps you.

The science is sound that altruism and taking care of others gives us a dopamine hit. The science is also sound that spending time in nature makes you feel great too. Imagine how good it must feel to be outside helping others! 

We at Tacoma Tree Foundation want to take a moment this June to talk about why diversity, equity, and inclusion still matters and why lifting up other voices is critical. Juneteenth is coming up shortly, and it serves as a reminder about what happens when not everyone has equal agency and voice in our societies.

A recent Grist article highlighted that access to urban park spaces has been scored for years without taking into account equity, like how access to those parks have been disparate by race. The Trust for Public Lands did not change their scoring methodology until 2021. People of color only occupy about 20% of leadership roles in environmental organizations, and many environmental organizations have only recently started to keep track of DEI metrics. In natural spaces in urban areas, there is still a big disconnect between who gets to make decisions about the uses of that space and who has access to it. This has big implications for how we experience our neighborhoods, and how it can vary by race, class, ability, and age. Thanks to the great work of groups and individuals like Outdoor Afro, Bam Mendiola, and Corina Newsome, stereotypes are being dismantled and efforts to create opportunities for outdoor experiences are building momentum.  

It’s not just plants that are stronger when they’re working together. 

However, that momentum needs to be sustained, and the work to address broad issues of systemic racism in America, seen through higher rates of poverty and incarceration as well decreased opportunities for quality education, affordable childcare, housing, and transportation needs to stay in focus. 

One thing we can do is to gather together as a community to collectively think about how to ensure that the natural world around us is cared for in a way that makes everyone feel like they belong here and they matter. We would like to invite you to participate in an upcoming forum to sustain the conversation. How do you think resources could be shared more equitably? What experiences have shaped how you view nature? 

Please gather and engage with us this summer, so that together we can create something more equitable and kind.