Small Steps

By: Julie Enderby, Education & Volunteer Supervisor

DNR partnered with the City of Fort Collins to host a booth at the Nueva Vida Resource Fair on May 13, 2023.
Photo Julie Enderby

Inclusive, accessible, community…how do these words relate to outdoor recreation and conservation? How do they reflect the amazing work the Department of Natural Resources accomplishes?

As the goal leader for the COMPASS priority goal “cultivating community engagement strategies and education opportunities that are accessible, inclusive of the whole community, and inspire stewardship,” I have been contemplating these questions a lot lately. To assist my journey, I looked up definitions of each word:

Inclusive: enclosing, embracing; including a great deal, or encompassing everything concerned; aiming to include and integrate all people and groups in activities, organizations, political process, etc., especially those who are disadvantaged, have suffered discrimination or are living with disabilities.

Accessible: easy to approach, reach, enter, speak with or use; able to be used, entered, reached, etc.; suitable for disabled people to reach, enter, or use, as a result of design modifications.

Community:  a social, religious, occupational or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.

Whoa. Heavy definitions which feel overwhelming. So, where does our Department start to create accessible and inclusive nature-based opportunities for the whole community?

With small steps, one opportunity at a time.  

The Engagement team is taking small steps by participating in community events with the intention of being an ally, being a neighbor, revealing the wonder of nature, inspiring stewardship and responsible recreation, and sharing our vision of healthy landscapes, healthy people.

We recently set up a booth at a resource fair coordinated for the Nueva Vida Mobile Home neighborhood by the City of Fort Collins; a predominantly Spanish speaking community. We met people who love utilizing Larimer County properties (& public lands in general) and were excited to share their nature stories! We met folks new to what Larimer County had to offer but interested in the possibilities. We provided information on the Discover Pack & Bison pass. A small crowd but an excellent opportunity to show up for an often underrepresented community.

For the first time, we’re scheduled to have a booth at Fort Collins’ Pride Fest in July to demonstrate our allyship and share stewardship messaging. With a fun themed nature-based activity, we are excited to be included in this welcoming event to celebrate diversity.

We are partnering with a new Teen Center in Fort Collins to provide hikes to connect them with the fun, recreation and wellness nature can provide. This was something the teen coalition, who have been key in setting up the center, expressed they wanted on their activities calendar. Awesome opportunity to connect with the potential future of natural resources!

We’ve partnered with CHILL, a local organization that provides creative activities for adults with developmental disabilities to live and learn, to provide monthly environmental education programs.

These are just a few of the small steps we’ve taken in 2023 to reach our COMPASS goal. Will we keep looking for new ways to connect with our community? Absolutely. This is about relationship building, not just checking a list. We’ll try new opportunities as they arise. Maybe everything won’t be the best fit for us, but you never know what it might lead to. After all it’s about connecting people, nature, and place and there are multiple ways to do just that.

Our efforts are also about building awareness of our hidden/unknown biases (we all have them). We have to remind ourselves to not make assumptions about what the community wants/needs and instead be willing to learn and develop a new perspective.

To say we see you, and we are excited to get to know you better.

Do you want to learn more about hidden bias in outdoor recreation? Join us July 25, 8–9:30 a.m. at the Horsetooth Area Information Center for a fabulous presentation, “Health” and “Wilderness”: Unpacking the story of ableism and fatphobia in the outdoors. See the calendar invite or contact Julie for more details.