Equity & Inclusion
Everyone has the right to explore and play in the outdoors; experience joy and connections; and discover their public lands, but not all kids have the opportunity. At NatureBridge, we work to increase access to our parks and we strive to create an experience that is inclusive and culturally relevant to all participants.
Scholarships
Funded by donors, our scholarship fund provides need-based support to students and schools that lack the economic opportunity to participate in NatureBridge programs. Many of these students would not be able to explore our national parks without financial support. In the 2017-2018 school year, we awarded over $1.4 million in scholarships that reached 46% of our student body.
And we can do more. To further close the equity gap in our parks, we will:
- Focus our outreach to new schools, or those for whom access is limited due to resource constraints.
- Increase the total funds available for scholarships by 50 percent by 2021.
Workforce
When students see themselves reflected in their educators, connections are more easily formed. They learn better. This has a lasting impact on youth, especially those who had little, if any, access to the outdoors - they come to understand that these parks are theirs and they feel empowered to explore and protect them.
This is why at NatureBridge, we put our efforts in recruiting and hiring a workforce that closes the gap separating students and educators. Our Educator Development Program is dedicated to train and hire educators who have had historical and systemic barriers to the field of outdoor education and consequently the workforce.
Through our continual staff training, we are working to build welcoming and inclusive programs for all audiences to discover and learn in their national parks.
When students have educators who look like them or share similar life experiences, it creates an avenue to forge a deeper connection with our educators which allows them to develop deeper connections with nature.Diana Lopez, Senior Educator
Miho Aida
What I deeply care about the most in this world is summarized in 5 Es: environment, education, empathy, equity and empowerment. Since 2000 when I started my career as an environmental educator at NatureBridge, my life has been dedicated to increasing the visibility and access of those from marginalized communities to our parks, environmental education and its workforce.
My role as the Equity and Inclusion Manager is to orchestrate NatureBridge-wide efforts to improve the organization’s cultural relevancy and ability to serve a diverse range of our audiences and employees.
—Miho Aida, Equity & Inclusion Manager
Stories from the Field
Miho Aida: A Sustained Practitioner of inclusivity
Miho has dedicated her life’s work to increasing visibility and access to environmental education, careers, public lands and outdoor adventure for those whom our system has failed to provide these opportunities. Miho’s journey with NatureBridge began in 2000 as an Environmental Science Educator at our Golden Gate National Recreation Area campus, on the traditional territory of Coast Miwok, Ohlone and Graton Rancheria.
#BlackLivesMatter
At NatureBridge, we work to increase access to our parks and provide safe, inclusive experiences for all of our students. But is it enough to increase access? Can we guarantee the safety of our black and brown students beyond the confines of our national park classrooms? Can we say, with confidence, that these are your public lands, that you can experience and enjoy them without fear? That in these spaces you will be regarded and treated equitably?
Boeing: Building Access to the Outdoors
Less than one year after California wildfires led to the closure of our Southern California campus, Boeing generously granted NatureBridge $120,000 to support environmental science education for Southern California kids at our campus in Yosemite National Park, enabling hundreds of transformative experiences.
