When next you find yourself in a wilderness area, whether that be at a national park in another state or a local or state park closer to home, take a moment to look at the folks around you while you’re enjoying the flora, fauna and pristine views.

What you’re likely to notice is a lack of diversity. That’s because the majority of those who spend time in wilderness and the backcountry participating in human-powered outdoor recreational pursuits are predominately white. 

Fact is, statistics collected by the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service show that while people of color make up nearly 40 percent of the total U.S. population, close to 70 percent of those who visit national forests, national wildlife refuges, and national parks are white. And Blacks remain the most dramatically underrepresented group in all of these spaces.

It’s not that people of color and other underrepresented groups don’t appreciate and enjoy the outdoors. Visit an urban park — especially on a weekend — and you’re likely to see more people and activity at parks located in black and Hispanic sections of town than at parks in predominantly white neighborhoods.

The question is why? What’s keeping state and federal parks and other wilderness areas from reflecting the diversity of the overall population in this country? A good follow-up question might be what can be done to make these areas and their associated outdoor activities attractive to a more diverse population?

Exploring the Possible Reasons for the Lack of Diversity in the Backcountry

Several factors may be contributing to the lack of diversity in human-powered outdoor adventure and recreation activities. These factors can be broken down into several categories, including historical/cultural, economic, social/psychological, and structural/institutional:

Historical/cultural

• Historical exclusion: Historically, people of color have been excluded from many natural spaces and outdoor activities through segregation laws, discriminatory practices, and social exclusion, all of which have a lasting impact.
• Cultural perceptions: Through media and marketing, outdoor recreational activities have been portrayed as predominantly white, which can make people of color feel unwelcome or out of place in these spaces.

Economic

• Cost barriers: The cost of equipment, travel, and participation fees can be prohibitive for lower income individuals and families.
• Access to resources: People in urban areas, where many minority communities live, typically have less access to natural spaces and outdoor recreational facilities than people in suburban or rural areas.

Social/psychological

• Safety concerns: Fear of discrimination, harassment, or violence can deter people in minority populations from participating in outdoor activities. African Americans, Latinos/Latinas, women, and even members of the LGBTQ community often report feeling unwelcome or unsafe in outdoor spaces.
• Lack of role models: The absence of visible role models and leaders from diverse backgrounds can discourage minority groups from participating. Moreover, the outdoors industry workforce — which includes everyone from park rangers to retail sales associates — has minimal representation from these groups.
• Lack of family and social support: Interest, knowledge, and skills in outdoor recreational activities are often passed from one generation to the next. If a person’s family or community hasn’t participated in such activities, that person is unlikely to do so as well.

Structural/institutional

• Limited programming: Many outdoor recreation programs and organizations have historically focused on serving predominantly white communities and may not have programs designed to reach diverse populations.
• Lack of inclusivity: Outdoor recreation organizations and spaces may not always be inclusive or welcoming to people of diverse backgrounds, either through implicit bias or lack of targeted outreach and support.

Good News: A New Trend in Outdoor Participation

The good news is that we are seeing an increase in outdoor participation among minority populations. According to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2023 Outdoor Participation Trends Report, “The new outdoor recreation participant base became more diverse in 2022, including increases in participation among Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQIA+ people.” 

In fact, the study reports that members of the LGBTQIA+ community “…participate in outdoor recreation at higher rates than heterosexual cisgender (people who retain the gender that was presumed for them at birth).”

What We Can Do to Support This Positive Trend

Many outdoor recreation, adventure, and education enthusiasts from minority populations have already taken the lead to increase interest and participation. They’re serving as positive role models, sharing their enthusiasm, and introducing innovative products, services, and programs that make the outdoors more accessible and attractive to members of their respective communities. 

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) brands have emerged to help fuel this trend, including Alluvia Packraft, co-founded by Mariana Cevallos; Alpine Parrot, founded by CEO Raquel Velez; and Outdoor Element, founded by Mike Mojica, a Native American/Mexican American mechanical engineer who worked in the aerospace industry before moving from Texas to Colorado to specialize in designing and manufacturing adventure and survival gear.

A number of organizations are also devoted to promoting diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces, including Outdoor Afro, Black Outside, Unlikely Hikers, and Melanin Base Camp.

This is all well and good, but all of us can do our part to promote outdoor recreation, adventure and education, making them more accessible and attractive to members of underrepresented communities. Here are a few practical steps we can take right now:

• Acknowledge and be honest about the history of the American outdoors — including the unrecognized contributions that indigenous people, Blacks, Hispanics, and members of other minority groups have made.  As well, we should ignore the discrimination, past and present, that has and continues to discourage participation among minority populations. We could begin, perhaps, with a reflection of our own potential biases and gaps in awareness and understanding.
• Work intentionally, as individuals and organizations, to make everyone feel safe and welcome in parks and other outdoor spaces.
• Provide education and outreach to promote the benefits and accessibility of outdoor recreation to diverse communities.
• Make outdoor spaces, activities, and programs physically and financially accessible for everyone. Nobody should be priced out of experiencing the outdoors. Companies and organizations can create affordable and accessible opportunities for outdoor recreation, including equipment rentals, subsidies, and free programs to help lower economic barriers.
• Represent diverse groups equitably in marketing and outreach. Subaru of America serves as one role model, showcasing diverse populations in its ads. In the creative, titled “A Beautiful Silence,” a father and his young son, who is deaf, drive through Yosemite National Park, with the wonders of the park’s beauty surrounding them. Featuring audio elements and American Sign Language (ASL), the ad shows how the pair experience the park’s natural wonders in different ways, but share the special feeling that nature brings forth.
• Support existing companies and organizations that are working to promote the outdoors to underrepresented groups and make outdoor spaces and activities more accessible and welcoming to members of these groups.
• Hire people from underrepresented groups who can provide insight into the unique needs and desires of group members and actively seek their input to drive positive change. Making the outdoor workforce more diverse can also make a more diverse clientele feel welcome.
• Partner with organizations that serve minority communities to reach a broader audience and create more inclusive outdoor recreation opportunities.

Walking the Talk: NCOAE’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), we believe in a world that is inclusive in its approach, where equal opportunities and equitable outcomes exist for all — both on and off the trail. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of our organization’s values. We embrace challenges by choice, thoughtful collaboration, acceptance and understanding, innovative thinking, proactive planning, and a willingness to learn and grow.

From our inception, we aimed to lead the outdoor education and adventure programming industry in serving, collaborating with, and being influenced by diverse people and communities. Along the way, we’ve realized that human capital is our most valuable asset. The collective sum of our employees’ individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talents significantly shapes our culture, reputation, and achievements at NCOAE.

Our approach to inclusion, diversity, and equity goes beyond an initiative. Our practices are naturally integrated into our policies on staff recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, professional development and training, career advancement, terminations, and the ongoing development of a work environment built on gender and diversity equity.

These practices promote:

• Respectful cooperation and communication among all NCOAE staff.
• Teamwork and staff participation, allowing representation of all groups and employee perspectives.
• Work/life balance through flexible schedules to accommodate employees’ varying needs.
• Contributions from both employer and employees to the communities we serve, fostering a greater understanding and respect for true diversity.

Outdoor Diversity Resources

For more information and the names of organizations working in this area of focus, check out the following resources:

• NCOAE’s accrediting organization The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) (listen to AEE’s podcast, “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging: The Intersection with Experiential Education”)
• NC State University’s “Nature Gap: Why Outdoor Spaces Lack Diversity and Inclusion,” by Emma Gosalvez
• “The 2023 Outdoor Participation Trends Report” by the Outdoor Foundation and Outdoor Industry Association (you may have to register with a valid email address to download the full report)
• “The Troubled History of Inclusion in American Outdoor Spaces” by the staff of the Appalachian Mountain Club
• Short list of organizations/non-profits promoting DEI in outdoor recreation:
  • Outdoors Empowered Network
  • Colour the Trails
  • Latino Outdoors
  • 6 LGBTQ Outdoor Organizations Helping Make the Outdoors Inclusive
• Books:
  • The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors
  • Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors
  • The Intersectional Environmentalist

Together, through thoughtful acts and actions, we can make human-powered outdoor recreation, adventure, and recreation more inclusive.

=======

About the Author: Cameron “Cam” Francisco, MEd, is the Associate Director of Outdoor Education at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). Prior to joining the team at NCOAE, Cam spent 19 years as an independent school educator and administrator. A member of the Association for Experiential Education (AEE), Cam is a certified Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and is certified in CPR by the Red Cross. His hobbies include fishing, soccer, skateboarding, hiking, and camping.

Leave a comment