Does nature discriminate?

(Written on our original website in October 2022)

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The benefits of being out in nature, particularly for mental health, are well-researched and reported. But there’s a gap that many people may be less aware of in the West: the racial gap.

Black people and people of colour in the West are less likely to spend time in nature. It could be easy to ask ‘Well, what’s stopping people of colour from getting outdoors?” But there are numerous barriers that mean people from racially marginalised backgrounds not only stay away from green spaces, but lose out on the health benefits too.

Firstly, in countries like the UK, nearly all of the Black and people of colour (BPOC) population resides in cities, where green spaces and access to nature is limited. Historical migratory movements such as urbanisation and redlining have meant that in urban areas, racially marginalised folk are also located in areas that are more prone to pollution, with restricted access to gardens and green spaces.

Next, as psychotherapist Beth Collier has written, the absence of BPOC from natural settings such as woodlands, hiking or campsites “is not simply about people of colours' relationship with nature, but also about our relationship with other people and how we’re received and responded to in natural settings.”

Collier goes on to say that a “significant proportion of people had experienced or feared being stared at, snubbed, verbally assaulted, followed or physically threatened. People of colour are made to feel their difference, that they were out of place and unwelcome, all of which impacts on our sense of safety.”

You don’t have to search far to find proof of this. In 2020, the story of birder Christian Cooper wrongfully having the police called on him for asking a woman to leash her dog made global headlines. Walter Kitundu, an artist and birdwatcher had the police called on him so often that he started making custom signs, reassuring people that his presence is not ‘suspicious’ and that he isn’t ‘dangerous’.

Diversity, inclusion and equity needs to be about representation, shifting perceptions and tangible action. If you’re reading this at work, ask yourself: could your company’s DEI practices include ways to encourage and support all people, but especially your marginalised team members, to get outdoors for their mental and physical wellbeing?