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The 2018 Symposium featured a plenary session on integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion into conservation, with (left to right) Kelli English, Amanda Rowland, Fernando Villalba, and Marcos A. Trinidad. Photo: Claire F. Meyler
Protecting biological diversity is a key part of in Cal-IPC’s mission. Protecting cultural and intellectual diversity is important to our success as well. Achieving our conservation goals requires participation across all communities in California. We want to help ensure that the demographics of people who actively engage in land management efforts mirrors the changing demographics of people who live in this state.
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Cal-IPC Statement on Engaging Community in Conservation
The California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) works to protect California’s environment and economy from invasive plants. We do this work on behalf of all Californians, and our success depends on engaging people from many backgrounds and communities.
Successful conservation relies on partnerships that include all Californians. Community engagement is essential to Cal-IPC’s success, and we commit to putting these principles into action in all aspects of our work. Below, we outline our initial strategies for beginning this process.
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- Cal-IPC will create a committee comprising board members, staff and diverse interested partners to facilitate integration of community engagement into all aspects of our work.
- Cal-IPC will include its members in guiding this effort.
- Cal-IPC will create an organizational Action Plan that delineates specific actions to be taken.
- Cal-IPC will incorporate inclusive language into written and oral communications and materials.
- Cal-IPC will design new programs, and reassess current ones, to ensure that they equitably and inclusively work with a diverse range of communities.
- Cal-IPC will set a positive example and aim to be a leader within our membership and the broader conservation community.
- Cal-IPC will use its communications – including its newsletter, social media and Symposium – to open dialog and share information and success stories.
- Cal-IPC will incorporate best practices in recruitment, hiring and retention and will foster an inclusive workplace.
- Cal-IPC will work to empower individuals to provide feedback to each other in a constructive and respectful manner.
- Cal-IPC will spend privately raised funds to support this work as needed
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Resources for conservation
Extensive resources exist online. Below is a small selection. Find more online in our Google resources spreadsheet.
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- Green 2.0 – Formerly the Green Diversity Initiative, includes “The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations,” July 2014 report
- Green 2.0 – “Leaking Talent -How People of Color are Pushed Out Of Environmental Organizations,” June 2019 report
- “Diversity in Environmental Organizations: Reporting and Transparency,” January 2018 report from University of Michigan
- Fire Adapted Communities Network – “I Am Aware. I Am An Active Bystander,” September 2019
- California Outdoor Engagement Coalition
- The Center for Diversity & the Environment (professional organization)
- Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (professional organization)
- Diverse Environmental Leaders: National Speakers Bureau
- Environmental Educators of Color (Facebook Group)
- Literacy for Environmental Justice
- Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources & Related Sciences
- Good to Great and the Social Sectors by Jim Collins (book on how to create unity while meeting mission)
- Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Our National Parks, National Forests, and Other Public Lands and Waters, President Barack Obama’s January 2017 Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
- Faculty website for Nina S. Roberts, Professor of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism at San Francisco State University, and Director of the University’s Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. (Interviewed in the Summer 2018 Dispatch
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