An Emerging Threat to Conservation: Fear of Nature

It’s called “biophobia,” a disconnection from nature that’s reducing our collective will to preserve species and habitats. But new research points toward some wild solutions.

Public Lands & Protected Spaces

March 13, 2020 – by John R. Platt

Wild, Incisive, Fearless.

Building relationships with Earth—and one another

By Crystal Gail Welcome October 1, 2021

The PCTA is sponsoring Crystal’s Footprints for Change Hike for Justice this summer on the Pacific Crest Trail portion of the Great Western Loop. Crystal is sharing her experience to encourage members of the PCT community to become more aware and more mindful of ourselves. We hope that you respect the story that Crystal is sharing with you. Crystal’s experiences are not open for debate. We stand behind her and as a result, we will not allow commenting for this post on social media out of respect for her experiences.
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Recent awareness of the lack of diversity in the outdoors suggests to many that it is a new issue, or that it was never a problem in the past. Many white Americans have been enjoying the outdoors since the trails we know today were established—even before that.

For those who have been blissfully unaware, the new attention to this issue may seem as if the media created it. Those people often say that “nature isn’t racist,” “the trail is open to all,” and the people there are the “friendliest” group they’ve ever known. But sentiments and statements such as those are evidence of the fact that lack of diversity is an issue, and one that did not just appear.

With the election of President John F. Kennedy, the 1960s was slated to be the “golden age” of America. But more precisely, this golden age was for white Americans. By the end of the decade, the U.S. was a country in turmoil and at war with itself.

The 1960s are most noticeably hallmarked by the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the Women’s Rights Movement. On April 4,1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Black civil rights leader, was assassinated. Five months and 28 days after King’s murder, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the National Trails System Act establishing national recreation, scenic and historic trails. I’m not implying a cause-and-effect relationship, merely stating fact.

Truthfully, it’s no surprise to me that white Americans eagerly sought enjoyment and respite in the outdoors. Until the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the National Park Service’s position on segregation was that it would respect local laws. One of the most striking examples of that is Shenandoah National Park.

Shenandoah National Park established Lewis Mountain as a segregated area for African American visitors in the 1930s. (National Park Service photo.)

Even though the 1968 National Trails System Act passed four years after the Civil Rights Act, the outdoors didn’t suddenly become friendly to Blacks. In fact, many Black folks didn’t have the means to engage meaningfully with the outdoors. Whether or not the NTSA was created for this purpose, in essence, it was a way to placate desegregation.

So, while Black folks fought for equality, white folks were making strides to isolate themselves from Blacks. I can’t begin to imagine what my life would be like if I had the privilege to escape the daily injustices of being Black.

Most National Scenic and Historic Trails are upheld, maintained and restored by volunteers. These are Individuals who see the benefits of the natural world and hope to maintain it for future generations. Today marks the 53rd anniversary of President Johnson’s signing of the NTSA. However, most Americans still aren’t aware of the existence of the National Trails System, and statistically, those who are knowledgeable are mostly white.

The systems of oppression and disadvantages that excluded BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) from the outdoors is detrimental to the future of our trails and our planet. As humans, our experience with the land reflects how we treat it, a meaningful connection with Nature instills a desire to protect it and maintain her.

I think about the future of the trails and of our Earth. I know for a fact I want us to have both—and I want them to thrive. For that to occur, people must work to maintain our trails and protect Nature. This starts with relationships to the Earth and with one another.

Today I invite everyone to start a new relationship with a trail and a human. Walk a trail, attend a trail clean up, and get to know your neighbor in the process.

Author: Crystal Gail Welcome

After a lengthy battle with a rare brain disease, Crystal Gail Welcome came to recognize the healing power of nature. She now uses her experience to break down barriers so more people can access the outdoors. Crystal is an experiential educator, author, storyteller, activist, backpacker, and Black outdoor leader. She chooses to speak out against racial injustice in the United States by hiking and giving voice to her experiences.

The Cookout Replaces Picnic

Increasingly, research has shown that as species and ecosystems vanish, it also chips away at our ability to preserve what remains — because we no longer understand what we’re losing.

You probably see it all the time. The neighbor who puts pesticides on his lawn rather than deal with pesky bees. The kid who squirms and runs at the sight of a harmless garter snake slithering through the grass. The politician who votes against wildlife protection because she’s never seen a wolf in the wild. The corporation that wants to bulldoze the habitat of a rare frog, but frogs are gross, so who cares, right?

At best this can be termed “the extinction of experience,” where our cultural and natural histories fade from our memories and therefore our reality.

At its worst it becomes something even more concerning: “biophobia,” the fear of living things and a complete aversion to nature.

This isn’t the fiction of living in a cold, empty dystopia. Sadly it’s becoming a way of life for too many people — especially children.

A recent study in Japan paints a striking portrait of this problem. A survey of more than 5,300 school children in the Tochigi Prefecture examined their perception of local invertebrates — 14 insect species and one spider. The results? A collective “ew.” Most of the students saw the species as things to dislike, fear or abhor, or even as sources of danger.  The less experience the students had with nature, the more negative their feelings.

The results were published earlier this year in the in the journal Biological Conservation.

Lead researcher Masashi Soga with the University of Tokyo says the study stemmed from observations about today’s nature-deficient children.

Historical and Current RealityaWe have a longstanding history with nature, our ancestors, elders and family members have enjoyed generations of the infusion of natural spaces. We however use them differently than our white counterparts, latinx brothers and sisters in addition to traditional uses by most citizens. my thoughts regarding not only how we use natural spaces but why is essential. The history of the slave trade, the Maafa

Never Forget

“Humans inherently avoid dangerous organisms such as bees, but children these days avoid even harmless animals such as butterflies and dragonflies,” he says. “I have long wondered why so many of today’s children react like this.”

Soga says their survey echoed findings from around the world. For example, a 2014 study of 1,100 students in China elicited similar emotional reactions — and, like the Japanese study, found that direct contact with nature helped to turn biophobia into biophilia, the term popularized by biologist E.O. Wilson to refer to human connection with other forms of life.

Although the children’s reactions were somewhat expected, the new study did contain an unexpected finding: Many of the surveyed children revealed that their parents also expressed fear or disgust of the same invertebrates. In fact these parental emotions were strong enough to overwhelm any positive experiences the children might have gained from direct experiences in nature.

November 30, 2015, Department, by Michelle Kellogg, Julie Nelson

• Social Equity

Equity and equality are sometimes used interchangeably, but actually convey very different ideas. Equity is about fairness while equality is about sameness. Racial equity means that race can no longer be used to predict life outcomes and life outcomes for all groups are improved.  

Working for racial equity is to our collective benefit. When we think about racial disparities, we often think about how inequities affect communities of color. The goal is not to just eliminate the gap between white people and people of color, but to increase our collective success. For example, using plain language to convey our policies and procedures will make them easier for all community members. Improving outdated hiring practices will strengthen the hiring process for all employees. Creating inclusive and welcoming environments will ensure that all people will feel welcome.

Why Race?

While explicit acts of discrimination became illegal through the Civil Rights Act, government policies and practices included “race-neutral” approaches that perpetuated racial inequities, often without explicit intent. Across every indicator for success, from jobs to housing, education, criminal justice and health, we still see deep and pervasive racial inequities nationwide.  

Focusing on racial equity seeks to address the institutional and structural racism that perpetuates these disparities. Institutional racism is when policies, procedures and practices work better for white people than for people of color, often unintentionally. Structural racism refers to the history and current reality of institutional racism across all institutions, combining to create a system that negatively impacts people of color.

Why Is This Important to Parks and Recreation Professionals?

It is anticipated that by 2042 people of color will become the majority population in the United States. Children of color are on course to reach that milestone by 2023.

Parks and recreation services in this country offer a great opportunity to advance racial equity. To that end, park and recreation services need to be at the forefront of addressing the inequities in our society. 

Racial Equity Tools 

Too often, policies and programs are developed and implemented without thoughtful consideration of racial equity. When racial equity is not explicitly brought into operations and decision-making, racial inequities are likely to be perpetuated. Racial equity tools are designed to integrate explicit consideration of racial equity in decisions, including policies, practices, programs and budgets, and to provide a structure for institutionalizing the consideration of racial equity. A racial equity tool: 

• Proactively seeks to eliminate racial inequities and advance equity. 
• Identifies clear goals, objectives and measurable outcomes. 
• Engages community in decision-making processes. 
• Identifies who will benefit or be burdened by a given decision, examines potential unintended consequences of a decision, and develops strategies to advance racial equity and mitigate unintended negative consequences. 
• Develops mechanisms for successful implementation and evaluation of impact. 

Use of a racial equity tool is an important step to operationalizing equity but is not sufficient by itself. In order to move forward, we must normalize conversations about race, operationalize new behaviors and policies, and organize to achieve racial equity.

Bossen Field: A Racial Equity Pilot Project

Bossen Field, which serves as a citywide athletic facility and neighborhood park on the south edge of Minneapolis, is a 37-acre park with 10 softball/baseball fields, one soccer/football field, a basketball court, two play areas, a wading pool, and parking lots. 

In the past two decades, the neighborhood immediately surrounding Bossen has seen significant increase in racial and ethnic diversity with growing populations of Hispanic, African-American and new African immigrants. It also has higher numbers of children than much of Minneapolis. One side of the park is bordered by high-density apartment buildings with primarily Spanish-speaking residents.

As one of the only athletic field complexes in the city, the park is heavily used by adult athletic teams who travel from other parts of the city and nearby suburbs that may not share the demographics of the neighborhood. In talking with neighborhood groups, Minneapolis Park and Recreation staff heard that many neighbors didn’t feel welcome in the park and felt that it is only available for use by athletic leagues. Local residents playing pick-up soccer games reported the experience of being “kicked out” when softball players would arrive and explain that they had reserved the field.  

In developing a master plan for the park, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) was faced with decisions about how to serve multiple constituencies with different, and sometimes conflicting, interests. Staff and leadership saw the opportunity to pilot the use of racial equity tools in the development of this master plan. More importantly, they saw the missed opportunity to meet the needs of the community if equity was not considered.

The MPRB started by training the project team staff in racial equity concepts and the use of a racial equity toolkit in decision making. The staff team knew that inclusive community engagement would be critical to the success of this project, so staff utilized different outreach and engagement methods to reach different user groups. Online surveys and public meetings were mostly used by athletic league participants, while neighborhood residents were contacted through outreach events at area churches and schools, door-knocking with bilingual Spanish- or Somali-speaking staff, working closely with key neighborhood residents, and paper surveys in multiple languages. 

Through this engagement, staff learned that there were areas of common interest between athletic leagues and neighborhood residents: the softball teams didn’t like kicking neighborhood kids off of the fields any more than the kids enjoy getting kicked off, and both groups wanted picnic facilities, more walking paths through the park, and improved parking facilities to minimize parking on neighborhood streets.

As a result, the master plan addressed parking, pathways and picnic areas and also placed open, flexible field space for soccer games in close proximity to the high-density housing. 

This inclusive process demonstrated the power of integrating racial equity into an important process, resulting in a strengthened proposal that will better meet the needs of both the surrounding neighbors and region-wide users.  

What Have We Learned?

Normalizing conversations about race is the only way to develop effective strategies for racial equity. One of the biggest challenges is the general discomfort many people experience in talking about race. This is a critical hurdle to get over. Avoiding conversations about race means there is a greater likelihood that organizations will not develop appropriate strategies to address institutional and structural racism. 

Behavior drives attitude. Sometimes we think that attitude drives behavior — we want people to “understand” racism and expect that behavioral changes will follow. In reality, the opposite is true: changing behavior changes understanding. Giving employees a common understanding of racial equity terminology and tools to use to do their jobs differently leads to an increased understanding of institutional and structural racism. 

Equity is a process. It takes continual learning and practice to embed racial equity into your organization. Equity cannot be relegated to a checkbox or an additional step to an existing process. Instead, it is a shift in the way our agencies do business. 

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Numerous organizations have already started this journey and have developed language, tools and resources. One of the organizations leading this charge is the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of governments working to achieve racial equity. Check out GARE’s resources, including its Racial Equity Toolkit. 

View the approved Bossen Field plan, which includes features that the Community Advisory Committee and Board unanimously supported, including walking paths, open play fields, a central play area, picnic areas and gardens.

Michelle Kellogg is the Equity and Inclusion Project Manager for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Julie Nelson is the Director of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity.