Outdoor equity
Unity is found in diversity.
In nature, flourishing diversity signifies health, vibrancy, and sustainability. The Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership endeavors to elevate and embrace diversity in all forms. We strive to integrate the complexities and rich diversity of all people and environments near and around the Sand Creek Regional Greenway into our work. By purposefully and authentically creating inclusive and equitable programs, events, and working environments, we can better serve the Greenway and the communities around it. We dedicate ourselves to the opportunity to grow alongside our community.
Sand Creek Regional Community vision and equity program (cvep)
The Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership began the Community Vision and Equity Program, or CVEP for short, in the Summer of 2022. In partnership with The Colorado Health Foundation, The National Park Service – Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program (NPS-RTCA), and the University of Denver (DU) we have worked alongside the community to design and implement an engagement strategy that will inform comprehensive equity decision-making and help enhance social and environmental change efforts for SCRGP and the surrounding communities.
Throughout 2023, CVEP has engaged over 900 community members. Prioritizing community experiences and values, the SCRGP offered eight culturally responsive engagement opportunities and 10 pop-up events. These events served as pivotal moments for fostering connection and gathering diverse perspectives.
Engagement in 2023, will result in a Strategic Action Plan to inform community engagement and consistent programming. Additionally, in 2024 CVEP will continue to engage community members and City Partners to understand where enhancements can be made along the Greenway to infuse equity throughout the space.
The culmination of 2023 efforts led to two workshops held in November 2023. During the November workshops, the community came together to share their equitable vision for the future of the Sand Creek Regional Greenway. We are happy to share the results of those workshops with you!
For more information or to learn more about how to get involved, e-mail our Outdoor Equity Coordinator!
• Integrating knowledge from community members' experiences, including those who are underserved and facing environmental injustice
• Focusing on participatory justice and equity-centered decision-making approaches
• Providing community members with opportunities to build upon their strengths to make positive social change and increase connection to the area
Engagement Activity Outreach Goals:
Public contribution and participation are central to the decision-making processes in all sections of the project.
The decision-making process (including community concerns and aspirations) will center the voices of historically underserved and Indigenous community members.
We will provide fair compensation for all community participation.
Engagement activities will welcome and celebrate diverse cultures and be made accessible based on the needs of participants.
Honesty and transparency will be present in decision-making steps.
Our Promises:
What is outdoor Equity and why does it matter?
Outdoor equity can be defined as outdoor and environmental spaces where resources and learning opportunities are available to all persons in and around that community. The Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership (SCRGP) is specifically intentional in creating and improving our outdoor spaces to be inclusive and accessible to meet the needs of diverse communities. We strive to hold ourselves and other stakeholders accountable in uprooting inequity and planting seeds of promise.
Quality time in nature is great for bodies, minds, and hearts. Colorado has no shortage of beautiful outdoor spaces to leverage the great outdoors to augment personal and collective health and well-being.
Nature is a public good that is too often treated as an exclusive resource. Far too many marginalized communities experience daily barriers to nature. 70% of low-income communities across the country live in “nature-deprived” areas, and communities of color are three times more likely than white communities to live in an area that is nature deprived.
Often, there is a general perception that nature is “out there somewhere”. Nature is thought of as places untouched by humans and not to be found in an urban environment. The Sand Creek Regional Greenway thrives with unique and immersive nature experiences that blur the division between nature and the city.
It is a moral imperative to make sure spaces like the Sand Creek Regional Greenway and the many benefits that it offers are accessible and enjoyable, especially to historically marginalized communities. The Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership understands a growing need to create equitable access and engagement to the Sand Creek Regional Greenway and outdoor spaces.
Spaces like the Sand Creek Regional Greenway are critical in creating and sustaining nature connections. These unique urban greenspaces can dismantle the many barriers marginalized groups experience when considering making connections and memories with nature. In pursuit of preserving the Sand Creek Regional Greenway for many more generations, all folks living near the Greenway must have the opportunity to enjoy the Greenway in their own way.
The Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership addresses outdoor equity through the three pillars of equitable access, awareness, and engagement. We join the commitment of others in the hope of our local efforts reverberating statewide and nationally.
Access
Access to nature is not equitable for people of all races, genders, immigration status, ability, and income levels. Outdoor access encompasses physical, political, social, and cultural barriers and obstacles. Addressing the various access issues will help make communities near the Sand Creek Regional Greenway happier, healthier, and more connected with nature in addition to inspiring more people to care for greenspaces.
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Examining infrastructure within nearby neighborhoods to understand what improvements are needed to make access to the Greenway safer and more comfortable for the many historically disinvested communities near the Greenway.
Conducting walk audits in partnership with community leaders to collect data regarding pedestrian access to the Greenway. Read data from our Aurora, Montbello, and Commerce City walk audits.
Allocating funds to “transportation solutions” to help local schools, community centers, individuals, and families navigate the expenses of traveling to the Greenway. In 2022, we have attributed over $3,200 in funding to subsidize the cost of field trips to the Greenway for schools in Northeast Denver.
Working collaboratively with Denver Audubon’s Birding Without Barriers program to assess the Greenway for level of accessibility/ease of use of the trail for folks with mobility challenges.
Educating the public on the tangible steps they can take to be champions of a diverse and equitable outdoor space.
Awareness
Families pass down their love for hours spent in nature and participating in various outdoor activities. Trying something new or different can be challenging without preexisting support. Misperceptions about a greenspace, how to engage with it, and how to access it leads to a decline in the use of those areas, mainly by folks who may have recently immigrated to the area. By ensuring more folks are aware of the Greenway and of the programs that the SCRGP offers, we can begin to help create a generational tone for families who are more aware of urban greenspaces, like the Sand Creek Greenway, and who feel more empowered to explore and conserve them.
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Have created a new position, Outdoor Equity and Volunteer Manager, dedicated to attending community meetings and generating partnerships to increase the awareness of the Greenway.
Completing a visioning process to learn what level of awareness communities near the Greenway have of the Greenway and other nearby urban greenspaces.
Translating marketing material into the languages most commonly used by communities near and around the Greenway.
Using social media and other platforms to share the great physical, mental, and emotional health benefits of spaces like the Sand Creek Regional Greenway.
Sharing how the Sand Creek Regional Greenway provides intermediary spaces between city and remote areas to allow folks to gain more exposure to outdoor experiences.
Engagement
Though it may seem like second nature to some, being in an outdoor space, whether urban or not, doesn’t always feel comfortable for others. A lack of community support and visibility can cause a lack of outdoor engagement for folks who may not have grown up spending time in outdoor spaces. It is critical to create pathways to engagement for youth, families, and adults who have been excluded from the outdoor space. SCRGP endeavors to create outdoor exploration and recreation opportunities remaining aware of the barriers experienced by historically marginalized communities in the pursuit of helping more communities find belonging and ownership with nature.
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Creating spaces and opportunities for the community to lead decisions associated with the outdoor space
Utilizing funds to host programs with translators for participants whose primary language may not be English.
Installing signs along the Greenway using more than one language, incorporating braille, and relying more on universal images to convey messages.
In 2022, the SCRGP offered more than 80% of our programs and activities at no cost to schools and other community organizations we partner with.
Ensuring SCRGP leadership is diverse by intentionally making spaces for folks to engage in transparent dialogue in a change-making position.
Seeking continuous opportunities for the community to share their thoughts and actively working to incorporate them into decision-making processes.
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Their goal is to make birding a more inclusive activity by getting ALL people, whether with mobility challenges or other limitations outside and into nature by visiting locations identified as being accessible and rich in bird life.
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Outdoor Afro celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. The network also connects Black people with our lands, water, and wildlife through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Some examples of Outdoor Afro’s year-round activities range from fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking, gardening, skiing and more!
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What Makes the Outdoors Inaccessible and for Who?