Increasing Access to Nature Experiences
Over the past year, we have been working to develop our next strategic plan, thinking carefully about where we need to focus to bring our vision of healthy ecosystems and engaged communities that much closer.
This “we” doesn’t just refer to the board or co-executive directors Alex and Junko, though. Many of the initial thoughts and considerations came from the incredible Grassroots Ecology staff who interact with both the land and community most often. We also reached out for feedback and input from some of our organizational partners like POST and Nuestra Casa to gain insight from the broader environmental community. Of course, Grassroots Ecology could never do all we are able to without our volunteers and donors, so hearing from many of you was essential to developing a thoughtful and effective strategic plan.
Los Robles Ronald McNair Academy joins Grassroots Ecology at Cooley Landing in East Palo Alto.
Naturalist Interns during a lesson on macroinvertebrates with Grassroots Ecology AmeriCorps member Serena M.
Throughout the many discussions involved in getting to this point, a common thread of accessibility came through. Our focus for the next three years will be on expanding access to nature experiences, green jobs and the land itself.
Silicon Valley includes a wide diversity of communities, and we believe every one of them should be able to learn and join in on the work we do for the local environments we all share. As much as our volunteer opportunities and events have always been open to everyone, we acknowledge that there are communities who face more obstacles to participation than others. The overall goal of this plan is to help reduce some of those barriers to joining the Grassroots Ecology community.
I first became involved with Grassroots Ecology as a summer intern in college, so I have been thrilled that one of our areas of focus is expanding access to our workforce development opportunities.
For our internship programs, that could simply look like stipends to help lower the burden of housing, food, and transportation costs. In the Bay Area, especially, these can be the difference between furthering a passion for the environment or turning to a different field.
Grassroots Ecology has worked hard to build a robust array of programs and projects, and we believe that the whole of our community deserves to be a part of it.
Read our 2024-2027 Strategic Plan at grassrootsecology.org/our-impact.
By Casey Mullins, Grassroots Ecology Board Member
