Hands on a log of wood showing the diversity of people in nature
By Kerry Williams, Project Administrator for Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Pilot
We cannot talk about EDIB without talking about people and how this group intends to positively impact the staff, members, and volunteer experience within Kent Wildlife Trust. The HR team are the first point of contact for the ‘B’; belonging is a vital addition to the EDI acronym, so we want to establish and maintain a close link between HR and the EDIB group.
Foundationally, this includes EDIB training being a mandatory iHasco module and extends to creating a central repository of resources and additional training that staff are aware of and can easily access. As part of ongoing efforts to increase inclusivity at Kent Wildlife Trust, the EDIB group has started collating a ‘living library’ of staff, volunteers, and members willing to share their lived experiences with others. The Buzz (our internal newsletter) includes a monthly EDIB update to raise awareness of the group, current activities, and how to join or get involved.
As a result of continued staff, volunteer, and member engagement, we hope for higher internal awareness and attendance of the EDIB group, with an aim that the majority of staff buy into the EDIB principles and feel they have learnt more about marginalised communities in conservation.
To support this, EDIB is heavily embedded into our new Project Management Framework, with its work stream and each departmental strategy involving EDIB in key appropriate areas. Hopefully, this offers capacity and expertise for supporting teams' respective actions, aiming to make staff and volunteers feel more inclusive.
By Kia Mack, Digital Development Officer
Just as crucial as creating a safe and inclusive environment for our current members, volunteers, and staff is extending this inclusivity to those not yet engaging with KWT and encouraging diversity amongst newcomers.
Our approach to achieving this involves several key actions:
Enhancing Recruitment Packs: to make potential applicants feel welcome and informed, we are introducing a dedicated section on EDIB within our recruitment pack. This section will introduce them to our EDIB group, its mission, and Kent Wildlife Trust's commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation.
Leveraging HR Tools: our new HR system will allow us to track the sources of job applications alongside the demographics of applicants. This functionality enables us to target our job advertisement budget effectively, which we hope will allow us to include postings on diverse job boards to improve the diversity of our candidates.
Long-Term Progress Tracking: our commitment to improving diversity in the long term calls for measuring and reporting demographics. We plan to collect and report data on applicants' backgrounds, current staff, volunteers, and members. This data will allow us to quantify our progress and assess the effectiveness of our strategies over time, pinpointing specific areas for improvement.
Engaging Existing Volunteers: we actively involve existing volunteers in our recruitment efforts. By making them aware of job advertisements, we tap into a valuable network of people who are already passionate about our mission and may refer candidates from diverse backgrounds.
Through these steps, we are working to create an atmosphere that not only welcomes diverse individuals but actively encourages them to join our team, nurturing a more inclusive and diverse Kent Wildlife Trust community that better reflects the world we serve.
By Beth Tabeart, CRM Manager
A core goal of our EDIB Strategy is to see Kent Wildlife Trust engaging with diverse audiences. Conservation is the UK's second-least diverse sector, and we want to see the tide turn on those numbers.
As a result, we are evaluating what kind of audiences we are not currently engaging with and looking to understand why. It is essential to address any communication barriers to make conversation on conservation more accessible to those from majority groups. In addition, we use plain English so that we can be better understood by those with learning difficulties or non-English speakers. Therefore, we ensure that accurate representation of the diverse nature of the general public is consistently considered in our messaging.
Language and lack of representation aren’t the only obstacles we want to remove here. First, access to nature can be limited to those with the luxury of access to money, transportation or an able body. We are working with our estates department to make our reserves and visitor centres more inclusive and accessible. Addressing routes and centres to be wheelchair accessible, using inclusive language in our signage so visitors with impairments can still understand the information and, therefore, the nature around them.
We recognise that making changes to our language and accessibility isn’t enough to make people feel welcome to visit local reserves and support a wilder future. A lot of work must be completed to engage with communities not represented in the conservation sector, creating a space where people feel like they belong and feel included in natural spaces and conversations around nature. Our Community Organising team will lead the change here, establishing relationships and welcoming communities to feel at home in Kent’s green spaces.
Finally, we acknowledge the impact that privilege has on access to nature. Communities from poorer backgrounds or with limited education may have had less access to green spaces. Living in urbanised environments, without back gardens or schools with no wilder spaces, makes developing a relationship with nature that step harder. This means that our next generation of conservationists is already lacking in diversity. To open up the future representation, we need to inspire young people from these marginalised communities into conservation careers. And support them with transparent access to nature, transport bursaries for school visits, work experience opportunities and clear pathways for apprenticeships and higher learning.
For more thoughtful writing & updates on all things wild, head to our blog.
This guest blog from Flora Hastings, Nature Immersion Workshop Leader, explores outdoors, immersive workshops that use the body and conversation to unravel the connections we have to the environment around us.
July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities and to advocate for greater accessibility and inclusion.
In this staff blog, Jenny Luddington - Blue Mentor (Youth Engagement & Education Officer) for Kent Wildlife Trust - offers important insight into Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) as we look back on FND Awareness Month.
