Michelle Nitardy, Public Lands Volunteer Group Leader
For the first 20 years of my life, I spent every summer going to nature camps. Some of my first memories were camping in a tent filled with mosquitos, jumping off a diving board into a lake, and racing up a rock climbing wall. It was here, surrounded by the liveliness of nature, that my love for the outdoors began.
The author, Michelle Nitardy, Public Lands Volunteer Group Leader
[P.C. Meteja Klukas and Abigail Franzwa]
I remember spending one summer afternoon going for a canoe ride with my brother. We were best friends but also got on each other’s nerves. We had a disagreement and as we both stood up, the canoe wobbled.. and wobbled… until we both fell straight into the thick, smelly, and mysterious water! I was afraid I’d be lunch for the three-foot catfish we had seen nearby. We both panicked and swam as fast as we could to the shore. By the time we pulled ourselves out of the green lagoon, we were covered in seaweed and leeches. We laugh at that adventure now, and it has become one of my favorite memories.
I was lucky enough to grow up experiencing outdoor activities without many barriers. My mom valued education, traveling, the outdoors, and worked very hard for my siblings and me to have the opportunities to explore the natural environments throughout the U.S. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting most of the popular National Parks in the U.S. through road trips.
Our long drives were peaceful but also filled with random stories and laughter. We went on a risky hike in Zion National Park called Angels Landing once, and my sister thought it was funny to crack jokes. It was hard to laugh when there was over a thousand-foot drop on each side of the narrow ridge we were hiking up. My siblings and I learn so much about each other on these trips, and that hike bonded us with bravery.
Towards the end of each trip, we would be so tired of smiling for the hundreds of photos my mom would take.
I am so grateful my mom values taking photos, and even if it’s a little too much sometimes... they are all so cute!
Now that I live in Washington, I am out hiking on the trails almost every weekend exploring the endless amounts of beauty. My mom encouraged me to become a member of Sierra Club, so I did, and soon after I became a volunteer and leader with Sierra Club. I love the outdoors and I am passionate about public lands and the environment.
Sadly, not everyone has these opportunities. Public lands are not easily accessible for some Americans. Many people living in urban areas and people without financial means lack the transportation necessary to go to visit public lands, which is one of the biggest barriers to enjoying the outdoors.
I identify as black or biracial, being half African and half white. Given my racial background, I am a part of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community. This acronym is meant to emphasize the particular hardships faced by Black and Indigenous people in the United States and to underscore that being a person of color is not a monolithic experience.
Through all of my experiences, I have noticed a lack of diversity in the outdoors. I see my Black brothers and sisters in the cities I live in but rarely do we meet when I participate in outdoor recreational activities in the surrounding areas. When I am constantly in spaces where I don’t see others who look like me, I feel out of place. This is one of the barriers for BIPOC to pursue outdoor hobbies.
Many of my white peers have shared that they do not think about the concept of race in the outdoors, however, in the outdoors, I constantly think of my race. Naturally, I am a very friendly person, and when I am passing people on the hiking trail I am much more conscious about being extra friendly to prove that I am not a threat because of the color of my skin.
I’ve heard the phrase “Nature is colorblind” as a response to silence these conversations about discrimination in the outdoors. However, people in nature are not colorblind, and although we are in the year 2020, racism still exists in the outdoors.
In February of this year, Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year old African American man, was followed and shot while jogging in Georgia.
In May of this year, Christian Cooper, a black birdwatcher, got harassed by a white woman in Central Park who called 911 on him for asking her to put her dog on a leash in an area where dogs are required to be on leashes. She told the police that there was an African American male threatening her and her dog.
But there is change on the horizon. The recent murder of George Floyd has created a social movement that has sparked conversations around race and intersectionality.
There is so much we can discuss concerning racism in the outdoors, including the history of the stolen lands from indigenous peoples, slavery and land ownership, historical trauma associated with lynchings, white-supremacist conservation leaders (such as John Muir), and how it all has an effect in 2020. These are topics the outdoor community must reckon with.
I hope that sharing my experiences will start or continue conversations around race in the outdoors, encourage positive change, and inspire more diversity within the outdoor community.
To move forward, we must recognize that race is an issue in the outdoors. Below are action items that we can work on together to shape the future.
• Representation - Represent more BIPOC in social media for outdoor recreation.
• Discuss - Talk about the issues with friends, family, and acquaintances.
• Volunteer - Take those who haven’t had much opportunity to hike before out to hiking trails.
• Research - Learn about indigenous peoples and their lands.
• Listen - Create space to hear the voices of BIPOC.
• Observe - Be willing to question any biases that you might have of BIPOC outdoors.
• Support - Follow and support BIPOC outdoor organizations such as Outdoor Afro, Melanin Base Camp, Outdoor Asian, Latino Outdoors, Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC). Also, feel free to follow me on Instagram! @mountain_meeech
Together, we can make the outdoors a place that everyone wants to be a part of!