Gallery
The environment belongs to all of us
BEN has no environmental expertise and expert organisations must take up their responsibility to make full access a reality. Our mission is to ensure the knowledge and skills relating to the protection of people and planet, and the opportunities for the enjoyment of nature are open to all. When BEN started in 1987, 100% of environmental organisations did not have ethnic environmental participation on their agenda. Our initial role has been to raise awareness and support the specialist environmental organisations reach out and work with ethnic minority communities. We did this through partnership projects, training environmental personnel and facilitating connections. We have succeeded in the context that now 100% of the environmental sector has multicultural environmental participation on their agenda, although often not to the quality or extent that we would like to see. Our position is that we will not take on any project that is the remit of the environmental sector.
Access to Nature at large
Most ethnic minorities are urban people. Many arrived in this country to take some of the poorest paid jobs and became trapped in our cities with no one to introduce them to nature at large in the countryside. Supported trips out as a group, with guided introduction to sites has been an important stage of re-uniting with nature, which belongs to all of us. As a result of the work of BEN there are now ethnic activists as evidenced on the open database Climate Reframe and minority-led groups such as Black to Nature or Black Girls Hike. We are seeing change.
From enjoyment to learning and contribution
Consistent access to the enjoyment of nature lays down the basis for an ongoing relationship with nature and fuels a sense of belonging. A deepening of interest follows. Access to knowledge, skills and opportunities then complete the picture. Representation, and access to jobs are big current themes.
