Photo by Oliver EdwardsAn environmental campaigner who founded a charity helping ethnic minority children access nature says the cultural landscape has “changed” since she started her work a decade ago.
Dr Maya-Rose 'Bird Girl' Craig, 23, founded Black2Nature at the age of 13 to connect more children from visible minority ethnic (VME) communities with nature.
Reflecting on the charity's 10th anniversary, she said the current climate feels “completely different”; although “much progress remains to be made.”
“It's amazing to look back over the past decade on all the hundreds of kids we've worked with,” she said. “All the different activities, the lives we’ve changed.”
Dr Craig said that when she first started talking about the lack of diversity in natural spaces, the response was markedly different.
“I remember when I first started having these conversations, people didn't want to have them with me,” she said.
“It was very awkward for them. I think they didn't want to acknowledge that there was exclusion and racism. A lot has changed over the past decade.
“This is really exciting to me because I think this is how we can build a more sustainable environment by getting everyone involved.”
Photo by Oliver EdwardsBlack2Nature provides camps, day trips and outdoor adventures designed to increase access for children, youth and families with VME.
The organization also advocates for greater racial diversity in the environmental sector and equal access to green space.
Dr Craig, originally from Chew Valley in Somerset, said the idea to set up the charity came from a “very deep love of nature and the environment”.
“I strongly believe that nature is a very important resource that other children have access to in terms of mental and physical health,” she said.
“A lot of these kids have never been to a rural area, so it's about breaking down those assumptions.
“Many of the children we work with feel that the countryside is not the place for them.”
Research from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) shows that representatives of ethnic minorities have on average 11 times less access to green spaces than other members of society.
For parents like Kumar Sultana, 42, from Bristol, Black2Nature has provided opportunities her family would have otherwise missed out on.
“I'm a low-income parent and can't afford things like camping,” she explained.
She added that these activities helped her children become familiar with the natural world and learn about sustainability.
Black2NatureMs Sultana, who is of Pakistani descent, said she had no such experience growing up.
“We don't have camping in our culture, and money is also a barrier to accessing it,” she said.
“Some of the places we went, I couldn’t afford to take my kids with me.”
Black2NatureTo mark its 10th anniversary, the charity will host a conference at the University of the West of England (UWE) on Wednesday, focusing on race equality, education and careers in the environmental sector.
Looking to the future, Dr Craig said she hoped environmental organizations would engage more meaningfully with different communities and young people would be made aware of career prospects in the sector.
She also wants greater access to nature across the UK.
“I would like to see better quality green spaces in cities. Very often there is a class divide in terms of green space: nicer areas have nicer parks.”
