I’ve been working in The Wildlife Trusts’ Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team for over three years. But, before I joined The Wildlife Trusts, I worked in a very different sector altogether! The opportunity to come and work for a federation that makes our local communities, our countries, and the world a better place was once in a lifetime.
Building a respectful, compassionate conservation community
It’s National Inclusion Week and The Wildlife Trusts’ Rob Gordon discusses the importance of building a compassionate conservation community.
My background was in mental health and disability support, but in so many conversations I had it was clear that those topics couldn’t sit in their own pocket alone. Things like our gender and gender identity, ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation all impact on the way we are treated in the world around us, and what barriers we face. Mental health and disability connect with all of them. Much like how our natural world is lots of connecting pieces, so are our lives as human beings.
That’s the approach we need to take with working inclusively, and why now is the time for me. Lots of my time is spent on learning and development. I talk with Wildlife Trusts across the UK, Alderney and the Isle of Man about what they can do to make sure their volunteers, members, and staff feel like they belong.
We value kindness, and we value respect, and everything we do in equality, diversity and inclusion is all about that. That way, we can build a compassionate conservation community where we can all be proud.
We need to stand up for all people
As a disabled person, it’s been particularly important for me to be aware of how inclusive the world is. Unfortunately, both around the world and at home we’re seeing attacks against the concept of treating people with the kindness and respect they deserve. This is leading to a lot of people feeling scared or anxious about what is to come.
For me, this shows that now is the time we need to stand up and make sure that people know The Wildlife Trusts is there for them. That we can provide that place where they will be supported and made welcome, in the face of racism, ableism, transphobia and more.
I believe in the good in people, and know that the vast majority of us would not want people to be made to feel unwelcome or scared. That is what we need to focus on: showing people that they have allies and friends, and that community still exists, wherever someone is.
We are nature
People and nature go hand in hand. We are nature, and nature is us. So, an attack on nature is an attack on people.
We can see that in inequality over public health, where asthma emergencies for people from minority ethnic backgrounds in the most deprived areas of England are more than three times higher. We can think about how people with mental health conditions are more heavily impacted by heatwaves.
The environmental crisis is a public health crisis, and it is impacting some demographics more than others.
We know how important nature is to our health, whether it’s our mental health or our physical health, and those benefits of nature are under threat. Those taking away our access to nature, or stopping us from having access to nature in the first place, should have no right to stop us from living the healthy, happy lives that we all deserve.
#NowIsTheTime for us.
National Inclusion Week is dedicated to celebrating inclusion and taking action to build inclusive workplaces. “Now is the Time” has been chosen as the theme due to the urgency and importance of inclusion, influenced by the recent backlash against inclusion and diversity.