Community Building
Green Foothills is working to grow a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive* organization and conservation movement. In support of this goal, we have developed community building programs and our commitment shows up in everything we do. Our mission and our organization only stand to benefit as we prioritize equity-centered community building work.
We live in an incredibly diverse region, but those who engage in environmental land use issues are often not representative of this diversity. Historical injustices have created barriers that exclude many members of historically marginalized groups from viable entry points to engage as volunteers, supporters, board members, and staff. Green Foothills is dedicated to changing this. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has equal access to and benefits from the natural environment.
In 2020, Green Foothills added “for the benefit of all” to our mission statement. We need your support to continue our community building work to make this a reality. Your contribution will support:
Leadership Program
This 8-month training program provides civic knowledge and skills training, intensively explores bias and privilege, intentionally recruits representative cohorts of participants, and provides Spanish interpretation. Alumni are often key partners in our advocacy on local land use issues and provide perspectives on equitable, inclusive environmental activism.
Healing in Nature Program
Healing is one of the greatest conveners of our time and these meditative outings open people’s hearts more deeply to themselves, to each other, and to the land, building a sense of camaraderie and trust with each other and the conservation movement, and inspiring future action. Emphasis is placed on building an ethnically diverse community of docents with cultural mindfulness training and expertise.
Tribal and Indigenous Partnerships
No one has a more respected voice for the land than Indigenous people speaking for their ancestral territories. We are listening, following the lead of Indigenous partners, and taking proactive steps to support their conservation goals including grant writing for their organizations and full scholarships for tribal leaders and indigenous serving groups in our Leadership Program.
Advocacy Program
We prioritize advocacy issues involving partnerships with organizations and tribes that serve historically marginalized communities. Furthermore, we advocate for agencies, landowners, and developers to effectively and meaningfully reach out to marginalized communities to ensure their needs are prioritized.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan
Currently being finalized by our board and spearheaded by our Equity and Inclusion Committee, this plan promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of our work so the organization is better equipped to implement our mission for the benefit of all, including historically marginalized communities.
Staff and Board
We actively support recruitment and retention efforts that build a workforce and board of directors that reflect the diverse communities we serve. We aim to align our organization with the values and goals outlined in the previous sections for both the board and staff, fostering a more inclusive and representative organization.
* Diversity at Green Foothills acknowledges that every perspective brings value and recognizes the importance of representation among our volunteers, staff, donors, and supporters. Representation includes the breadth of genders, sexualities, race, ethnicities, cultures, and lived experiences found in the communities we serve. Equity acknowledges that one-size-fits-all policies don’t support inclusion and diversity. At Green Foothills we take individual needs into consideration, adjusting our decision making to account for the disadvantages historically marginalized groups face. Equity is how we achieve inclusion by meeting the needs for all to be involved and have the opportunity to advance into leadership roles. Inclusion ensures feelings of belonging, of safety, and of being valued for everyone involved at Green Foothills, no matter their identities or lived experience. One primary tenet of inclusion at Green Foothills is participation in leadership roles on the board and staff.