Program on the Environment

Environmental volunteer projects are extremely beneficial to the health of our local green spaces and the physical and mental health of the participants. However, the majority of environmental volunteers are White, older in age, affluent, and highly educated. The aim of this study was to determine the most common barriers the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) community faces that prohibit them from participating in environmental volunteer projects. In order to answer this question, I created a survey which addressed the common barriers citizens experience that make it difficult for them to volunteer. I performed a literature review of ten scholarly sources which analyzed the rationale behind environmental volunteer work. Lastly, I interviewed seven environmental professionals on what they believe may make it more difficult for BIPOC to volunteer. Through this research I found that the most common barriers to participation were: history of excluding BIPOC from outdoor spaces and redlining, not hosting events in a diverse variety of neighborhoods, not enough advertising in various forms about the events (flyers, email, social media, etc.), and not providing free, virtual training on environmental volunteer work. Environmental organizations need to make better efforts to include their BIPOC community members, addressing some of the barriers previously listed would be a strong starting point. Once aware of these barriers, environmental organizations can start to make changes, so that everyone can receive the benefits of environmental volunteering and feel welcomed in green spaces.