Resources

Edward Abbey and Exclusionary Conservation on the Borderlands

This article outlines Edward Abbey’s stance on immigration and how it is directly related to an exclusionary conservation ethic. The article reminds us to think critically about the legacy of conservation and environmentalism, the stories that get told, and in particular, the stories that remain untold. Read here.

Toward a Wider View of “Nature Writing”

Catherine Buni gives an overview of how environmental literature has historically been dominated by whiteness, and then advocates for a broader understanding of environmental literature by introducing the voices of several authors and thinkers of color from the past and present. Read here.

Diversity and the Conservation Movement

Chandra Smith, Marcelo Bonta, and Tony DeFalco compiled a comprehensive report on the conservation movement in respect to diversity and inclusion. They provide an overview of the challenges, suggest best practices, and provide case studies for successful efforts. Read here.

Madness & Oppression

The people at the Icarus Project put together this mapping tool for anyone to map out how oppression impacts their health.

In the words of the authors, “Mad Maps are documents that we create for ourselves as reminders of our goals, what is important to us, our personal signs of struggle, and our strategies for self-determined well-being.”

You an access the book for free here or, please consider, paying $8 for this resource here.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice Vocabulary

We have compiled this vocabulary sheet to provide you with some basic definitions of key words and phrases. This vocabulary sheet represents how we at the Avarna Group commonly talk about DEIJ concepts and are a reflection of our learning over the years. However, this is not meant to be a definitive list and we have provided other resources in this vocabulary sheet that provide more definitions, particularly from impacted communities themselves. Moreover, language and ideas move faster than we have capacity to update this sheet. Please use this information as a starting point for understanding rather than a definitive resource.

Privilege 101: A quick and dirty guide

This article from Everyday Feminism outlines the basics of privilege and how it manifests. Read online here.

Verde Paper: Latino Perspectives on Conservation Leadership

After 18 months of research, La Tierra Madre reports out on some common themes in the Latino conservation community and provides insights on successful Latino engagement in conservation, either within Latino communities or between mainstream conservation efforts and Latino communities. Access here.

Transgender Legal Rights Toolkit on Campus

Developed by Lambda Legal and Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, this is a toolkit for anyone to understand trans* rights on college campuses. It also provides a list of best practices for all college campuses.

Landscapes of Exclusion

This interview with scholar Carolyn Finney explains her research interests, African American experiences in the outdoors. Finney began to ask questions about land ownership and race in the US, which ultimately led her to research about the various ways that African Americans have been excluded from the mainstream environmental conversation, despite a rich history of deep connection with the environment. Read here.

A Path to Environmentalism

Black Girl Dangerous contributor, Jasmine Kumalah, succinctly and precisely discusses her own path to environmentalism, which includes understanding the complexity of human relationships to the environment and social hierarchies. Read here.