Inclusivity in the Outdoors (& Lack of Diversity)

I think as the BLM movement has solidified in the past months, it is the perfect time to reflect on the activities we all participate in and focus on the clear lack of diversity in many social groups. I am a new comer to the outdoor community, and still can feel this intense feeling of being an outsider. The outdoors draw such a crowd because nature offers this equalizing experience that everyone gets to interact with in a unique way.

Ideally, the thought is the outdoors can’t discriminate because everyone can participate and go outdoors, but the communities that run these outdoor spaces are severely lacking in inclusivity and diversity.

Diving into inclusivity first, many of these sports economically limit most people. Skiing is a great example of immense privilege and wealth due to its skyscraper prices, limited accessibility, and its historical past of a primarily white audience. Climbing, biking, and even camping can be extremely exclusive. If you don’t have the proper gear, it’s almost impossible to be able to safely enjoy these sports. Not to say you can’t find a great deal or buy reused, but a $180 lift ticket for the day is not in the budget of most people.

Expensive costs aside, I also find the outdoor community a bit competitive. “How many hikes have you done this summer? How many days have you skied? What climbing gym do you go to?” Even though these questions don’t stem from an intrinsically negative place, the assumption is clear that you have the time to enjoy outdoor activities, have the funds to do so, and are able to take multiple days off to accomplish crazy seasons with 100s of days under your belt. Again, not to say that there aren’t a lot of people who have to sacrifice a lot to enjoy the outdoors, including waking up hours before their work to sneak in a hike, or spending every minute of free time just to soak up some time in the sun, but some people working four jobs of course will never have time to get in an afternoon hike or join a pricey climbing gym. The problem is that there is this assumption that everyone can enjoy the outdoors, when in reality a lot of people don’t have that type of free time.

Despite these sports economically isolating groups, there is also a huge issue with diversity. I remember first becoming familiar with this issue after reading an article about white male members of the outdoors community. The article is written by Anaheed Saatchi and posted on Melanin Base Camp (which I’ll discuss later), which dives into the huge disparity in representation and why we continue to give credit to white males, who had very little to overcome to begin their sports, and are constantly put on a pedestal. White males are represented time and time again, and while their achievements are crazy in contrast to most people, the story is getting old. There are so many people that had to fight to get a voice in this community, to be taken seriously, to get any sort of representation or brand deal, and these people never get a feature film or get to be the cover story.

In addition to the glorified white male figure in the outdoor community, white females (including myself), take up so much space in the outdoors. The lack of diversity is truly insane. Scroll through your favorite outdoor brands (before the BLM movement and the guilt posting), and look at the insane amount of white faces, white stories, and white voices. Of course because white people are a large chunk of the outdoor community there is a large representation, but that paves a path for an insane opportunity to increase representation of people of different backgrounds to make the outdoor space more inclusive.

While some sports like skiing or climbing might always be out of reach for some economic groups, hiking and camping are activities that can literally be free. Why are our trails not filled with people of all backgrounds? Why aren’t minority kids told about these awesome outlets? Why aren’t POC covering the outdoor magazines to show by example for younger generations of what they’re capable of overcoming? I don’t think any kid of color is inspired by another middle class white male who climbed a mountain when the roadblocks were probably very limited for them to get there.

During the height of the BLM postings from outdoor companies, the comments section were a dark place. Black person after Black person left comments about their experiences with the outdoors community. Cops being called for being at a campsite, never seeing representation with brand ambassadors, being a token POC for an ad campaign etc. The stories were sad and obvious. Even companies that claimed to be fighting racism and representation seriously lack color in their staff.

Another issue is body inclusion. Many outdoor brands and apply a “standard body type” and the size offerings show it. I am a tall girl and not stick thin and find a size Large a tight fit and uncomfortable. I know there is a stereotype of thin active people, but why not expand sizes to give everyone a chance at the outdoors. Again, I am not even discriminated against and still can feel like an outsider in the outdoors community because I don’t have a typical trail runner body.

So where do we go from here? We’ve identified a problem that POC have been preaching for years, and we are finally acknowledging it. As a white person, I can feel helpless in this situation because of course I want everyone to be able to enjoy the outdoors freely. I want to see a diverse and inclusive group but don’t know the struggle of joining this community. Because I, myself, as a white person, the most represented group, sometimes find the outdoor community exclusive, I cannot imagine how much of an outsider POC probably feel. What I have found is a lot of resources of amazing people doing incredible work in their communities to bridge this gap. Even though it feels good to be a part of change, donating money to organizations is a huge way white people can help this situation.

There are tons of organizations focusing on women of color inclusion, POC inclusion, and leveraging resources to make expensive sports more accessible to more economic groups. These groups are helping POC pave the way for diversity and inclusion.

I don’t have all the answers, but listening to POC right now is so important. Following by their cues, we can join together to create an outdoor community that represents the greater community. I think all people in the outdoor community can agree that natures offers immense mental clarity, physically challenges you in unique ways, and gives you experiences that are unforgettable. These immense benefits should be experienced by everyone, not just people that can afford it or grew up doing it.

Here is my list of resources I’ve collected (and please comment below more if you have any others):

Organizations:

Camber Outdoors: This organization’s goal is to advance workplace inclusion, equity, and diversify within the active outdoor industries. With a motto of #everyoneoutdoors, this organization is head on identifying the lack of diversity that is seen in many outdoor industry employers.

Blackpackers: This organization is based out of Colorado Springs and hopes to meet those at the intersection of economic vulnerability and under representation. These groups are crucial to bridging gaps in diversity and economic backgrounds.

Greening Youth: This foundation engages with underrepresented youth and young adults, while connecting them to the outdoors and careers in conservation. This group is based out of Georgia and is helping bringing careers to different POC.

Blackpeoplewhohike: This page represents the strong Black hiking community and is a great resource for representation and encouraging BIPOC to get out on the trail. Based out of STL this page features amazing hikers of different backgrounds.

Girltrek: This non profit is the largest public health and self care movement for Black women. They offer an incredibly informative Black History Bootcamp and are an amazing resource for everyone to learn from.

Camper Founder Girls: This organization was America’s first summer overnight camp for Black girls and offers this group transformative outdoor experience. These type of organizations are what will change kids perspectives from a young age of the amazing things they are capable of.

Get out Stay out: This is an indigenous youth led non profit reconnecting toe the outdoors through culturally equitable outdoor programing. This group is helping bridge the gap between many indigenous communities and the outdoors.

Native Women Wilderness: This Instagram page is a gathering to share stories, to learn and to support Native Womxn. The page features incredible Native Women in their element in the outdoors.

Brown Girl Outdoor World: This organization hopes to change the narrative through adventure. Based out of Toronto, this group organizes trips, shares stories from POC, and overall is help changing the normal formula of the outdoor world.

We Color Outside: This Instagram is helping women of color create unapologetic, JOY-filled liveds through outdoor adventure. Sharing inspirational stories, incredible adventures, and encouraging others to get outdoors, this page is an amazing resource.

Blackadventuristas: This instagram is supporting the well-being of Black women by connecting together and to adventure experiences in their local communities and beyond. A collective of inspiring stories, and incredible Black women exploring the world and showing the world representation is possible.

Outdoor Journal Tour: This group empowers women through mindfulness and Mother Nature based out of Atlanta. The founders are vibrant and empowering and this page will definitely make you smile. This page radiates positivity!

Blackgirlstrekkin: This group brings diversity and inclusion to education about conservation. This group inspires people to get involved in the outdoors and protecting the planet. Their mission to diversify the outdoors is inspiring and changing the narrative of the normal outdoor community.

Brown People Camping: This group of IndianMuslimAmericanWomen dedicated to diversifying public lands and the outdoors 1 story at a time. This page gives different perspectives from a range of different backgrounds offering real life encounters of POC with the outdoors.

The Showing Up Project: This organization is an initiative to encourage women of color to improve their health and wellness by spending more time in nature. They offer an awesome range of resources. The page is full of amazing girls throwbacks to their adventure experiences.

Brown Girls Climb: This group lead by women of color on the rock, with values of mentorships, community, and education in the climbing world. This group is an amazing representation of the bad ass POC group in the rock climbing world.

Outdoor Afro: This group celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. Outdoor Afro always posts amazing and informative resources to learn about the outdoors, about POC’s experiences in this space, and things you can personally do.

Melanin Base Camp: This group is looking to show People of Color in the outdoors and #diversifytheoutdoors. If you want seriously some of the most informative blogposts, check out their page. They offer ways you can directly help this initiative and their writers offer incredible perspectives. This was the original source that really made me start considering the outdoors and the lack of diversity so I cannot recommend enough.

Individual Accounts:

WastefreeMarie: This page is an awesome resource for climate and racial justice with actionable steps to follow. Marie’s perspective and posts are informative and inspirational.

Candyss.love: She has an awesome account showing that any person of color can solo travel and experience van life. She is also 2 years sober and overall inspiring and talented.

She_colorsnature: This account promotes diversity in the outdoors, focuses on hiking and anti racism, and low waste living. Chelsea’s posts are always super informative and her tagged stories are great resources!

Flying_toruga: Nadia is both a badass ER nurse and outdoors woman. She posts not only helpful information on Covid but shares her awesome experiences, in addition to tips on low waste, food justice, and other great resources.

Jitterbug_art: Latasha is an incredibly talented Colorado artist. Her art is usually inspired by nature and plants and is seriously gorgeous. She just finished an incredible mural in Breckinridge.

Urbanclimbr: This girl’s smile will one hundred percent make your day. She glows and is an incredible photography, a climber and outdoors lady whose posts never fail to make me smile. This girl is incredible.

As comprehensive as I tried to make this list, there are still so many others to check out. Click HERE to find more amazing outdoor collectives trying to diversify the outdoors.

Here are some ways you can help make the outdoors more inclusive:

one. Donate. Donating is such an easy thing to do, especially if you come from a privileged background. These organizations cannot survive and accomplish their missions without cash flow. Research local organizations, connect with them, sign up for their newsletter, and make monthly donations.

two. Volunteer. In the time of Corona, this will be tricky, but so many organizations need extra hands. As a white person, these organizations fighting diversity do not need a white leader, but they may need extra hands helping with a task, offering a car to drive people, or maybe bringing food to an event.

three. Donate old gear. Maybe you are eyeing some new gear at an REI sale, or want an upgrade, more times than not, outdoor equipment is very durable. Rather than trying to sell it on a Facebook group, look up local organizations that might benefit from your gear.

four. Amplify POC voices. Some easy ways to amplify these voices are reposting and crediting people paving the way in these communities. Tag your favorite POC creators on popular outdoor companies to give them some recognition. When an opportunity seems fitting, send companies awesome accounts and organizations that you love.

five. Rethink where you buy. Right now is the perfect time to see where you are feeding your money. Are there any black owned gear shops near you? Are the current places your shopping aligning with your beliefs? Are you reaching out to companies you disagree with to start a productive conversation that will hopefully lead to change?

It’s actually crazy that the list I have compiled is only a FRACTION of all the amazing POC in the outdoor community. There are so many more, so many organizations doing incredible work, and I encourage you to research ones in your area or that align with your beliefs.

The craziest part is even with these large lists of organizations, it’s pretty clear this community isn’t only a space for white people, and yet until this movement these people were grossly underrepresented.

Please comment below your favorite accounts or organizations I can check out!