resource type
Stereotyping Activity
This activity is an effective introduction to how hidden biases impact our perceptions of people who are different from us, how our knee-jerk reactions can lead us to making the wrong conclusions about people, and how often we stereotype people even when we don’t intend to.
DownloadTips for having difficult conversations
We have compiled some tips and helpful phrases that can help you have that difficult conversation with someone, regardless of your relationship to them.
DownloadInclusion Tips for Outdoor Program and Field Staff
This document is for outdoor, environmental, or experiential educators and conservation program staff. This every-evolving tips sheet provides strategies for fostering a more inclusive environment for any program participant.
DownloadToolkit to Mitigate Bias in Recruitment & Hiring (Updated 11/2021))
We have compiled a list of some of the most current and salient ideas for ensuring your hiring practices are as equitable and inclusive as possible. This toolkit takes you through the entire hiring process, giving suggestions for each step. (Updated November 2021)
DownloadIdentity signs
This activity is designed to get participants thinking about their own identities in relation to systems of power and privilege, as well as understand how others’ identities are influenced by power and privilege.
DownloadIn/Out of the Box
This is an activity that allows students to discuss how society assumes different qualities regarding different identities and then how they or other people they know transcend those imposed qualities.
DownloadTierra y Vida: Chicanos and the Environmental Justice Movement
José Gonzalez outlines important concepts and histories regarding Chicanos’ involvement in the environmental justice movement. He discusses environmental issues that have disproportionately impacted the Latino community and how the Chicano community has responded. Read here.
Pedagogy of Place
Authors Brian Wattchow and Mike Brown provide an alternative vision for outdoor education by first calling into question the assumptions that are made in outdoor education and then calling for practices that highlight the intersection of place and culture. They have provided the entire book for free!
White privilege and experiential education: A critical reflection
Jeff Rose and Karen Paisley outline how white privilege is embedded in experiential education (and specifically outdoor education) through assumptions about how students should experience experiential education and the environment. In academic terms, Rose and Paisely argue that experiential education is a privileged pedagogy.
The Freeland Project
Fair warning: this is actually not free, but a great resource if you have the capacity to buy it. Ariel Luckey, a performance artist, puts on a one person show that describes his very personal journey to understanding how colonialism shaped the West and impacted his life as a white man. He investigates both historical land politics and current land politics in his home, the Bay Area. You can purchase the DVD of the performance and the curriculum guide.
Access here.
In Light of Reverence
This film tells three stories about land disputes between indigenous communities and outdoor reactionists and/or mining companies. It highlights how different groups and cultures understand and experience land. The film is available for purchase or available to rent on Netflix. The film also comes with a lesson plan, available here.
Read the summary here.
Colors of Nature: Teaching Guide
Colors of Nature is an anthology of writing that links place and culture together, from a diverse group of writers and thinkers. The book is accompanied by a robust teaching guide. Access here.