Social emotional learning & developmental justice

Diana Divecha (2021) It's Time for the U.S. to Take Developmental Justice Seriously https://www.developmentalscience.com/blog/2021/2/2/its-time-for-the-us-to-take-developmental-justice-seriously.

• While the US is considered a highly developed nation, families and children are still underserved and unsupported by US policy. The US has some of the worst rankings from UNICEF regarding the well-being of children, including their “mental health, physical health, and academic and social skills” (Divecha, 2021). In this article, Diana Divecha shares how the US has a lot of work to do in order to aid the healthy development and care of children. 

Davis A, N, Carlo G, Maiya S: Towards a Multisystem, Strength-Based Model of Social Inequities in US Latinx Youth. Human Development 2021; 65:204-216. doi: 10.1159/000517920 https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/517920#.

• Latine communities in the US are one of the most impacted groups facing racism, social inequity, and criminalizing rhetoric and policy. Social, environmental, and cultural stressors such as these can negatively impact a child’s development in significant ways. In this paper, the authors look at this relationship while also highlighting the positive impacts that warm parenting, a supported cultural identity, and familism have on Latine youth. Prosocial engagement increases with these characteristics, which in turn benefits the mental and physical well being of youth - combating the negative impacts of the stressors they face.

Latine, Multilingual, Migrant, and Newcomer communities in outdoor recreation

Shanna Edberg (2022) Latinos Face Challenges Accessing the Outdoors — and Climate Change Is Adding to Those Barriers https://therevelator.org/latinos-outdoors/

• While outdoor recreation and green spaces are proven to be beneficial for individual and community health, Latine communities are currently underserved in this area. Lack of access to safe and reliable transportation, tools for recreating, and time result in less Latine representation in the outdoors. In this article, Shanna Edberg calls for bringing outdoor recreation opportunities directly to Latine communities, including Latine voices in environmental decisions, and addressing climate change in order to protect the vulnerable.

Elizabeth Silva Mendez (2018) The influence of Latinx cultural values on outdoor recreation practices https://willamette.edu/undergraduate/ccm/experiential-learning/media-and-the-environment/student-reports/the-influence-of-latinx-cultural-values-mendez.pdf

• Differences in culture make for different uses of outdoor spaces and forms of outdoor recreation. Current green spaces often serve majority white interests, without taking into account cultural, lingual, and communicative differences of people of different ethnicities. Engaging with family, partaking in group sports and activities, and food-centered gatherings are often highlighted in Latine culture in the outdoors but lack representation in park and outdoor spaces. Elizabeth Silva Mendez shares her experience with environmental recreation and how policy, parks, and nature spaces can better serve people from diverse cultural backgrounds. 

Alyssa S. Thomas, José J. Sánchez, and David Flores (2021). A Review of Trends and Knowledge Gaps in Latinx Outdoor Recreation on Federal and State Public Lands https://www.fs.usda.gov/psw/publications/thomas_as/psw_2022_thomas001.pdf

• Representation of diverse groups is lacking from the majority of the US’ state and national parks. This review investigates the barriers that Latine populations face in accessing outdoor spaces, with emphasis on racism in parks from other users, racism from on-site professionals, lack of information in languages other than English, and a fear of policing/deportation associated with federal lands that discourages Latine, Newcomer, Multilingual, and Migrant communities from entering these spaces.
  

How outdoor recreation and educational opportunities foster positive youth development

Mann, J., Gray, T., Truong, S., Brymer, E., Passy, R., Ho, S., Sahlberg, P., Ward, K., Bentsen, P., Curry, C., & Cowper, R. (2022). Getting Out of the Classroom and Into Nature: A Systematic Review of Nature-Specific Outdoor Learning on School Children's Learning and Development. Frontiers in public health, 10, 877058. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.877058/full

• Whole-child development is not proportionally apparent in all US schools, especially with the rise of standardized-test based learning that neglects supporting children’s development outside of just academic performance. This article looks into nature-specific learning outside of the classroom to understand the relationship between childrens’ well being and time spent playing and being outdoors as fundamental to their education. This review finds that integrating outdoor recreation is correlated with greater interpersonal skills, improved academic performance, and a greater sense of belonging to name a few.

Jackson, S. B., Stevenson, K. T., Larson, L. R., Peterson, M. N., & Seekamp, E. (2021). Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents' Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(5), 2506. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052506

• The past few years of the global pandemic of COVD-19 brought about major changes in the way children were/are able to learn, play, and take up space. This study investigates the declines in outdoor play and adventure during the isolation periods of the pandemic, and how those correlate to decreased wellbeing in children. Researchers found that the children included in this study who were able to continue outdoor recreation and activities through times of hardship displayed greater resilience, mental and physical wellbeing, and positive life outlook across all demographic backgrounds.

Inclusivity in outdoor recreation and education

Emma Gosalvez (2020): Nature Gap: Why Outdoor Spaces Lack Diversity and Inclusion https://cnr.ncsu.edu/news/2020/12/nature-gap-why-outdoor-spaces-lack-diversity-and-inclusion/ 

• This article explores the relationship between the historically racist origins of outdoor recreation and how that legacy has continued - resulting in the lack of representation of people of color in the outdoors and a lack of accessibility to the outdoors by diverse groups of people. Gosalvez also argues that while these spaces have been largely inaccessible to non-white, working class populations, it should be recognized that people of color have overcome the incredibly limiting barriers to outdoor recreation and have contributed in very important ways to environmentalism, education, and recreation. Gosalvez points out the importance of making spaces more inclusive by employing diverse leadership and making outdoor areas feel welcoming and safe for all.

Heather Greenwood Davis (2021): 9 Ways to Make the Outdoors More Inclusive https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/inclusivity-outdoors-adventure-world-ideas

• This article highlights the work of 9 different individuals and groups who aim to make outdoor recreation inclusive, supportive, and uplifting for a variety of people. Each leader mentioned shares how they are currently working toward inclusivity in their field and what they would like to see in outdoor recreation moving forward. Readers can gain a stronger sense of how folks of different identities and walks of life can be better supported in outdoor recreation and education. 

Sully Moreno (2019) A Week at Mount Rainier Helped Build Community for Latina Teens https://www.wta.org/news/magazine/features/a-week-at-mount-rainier-helped-build-community-for-latina-teens.

• In this short article the reader gets an anecdotal look at the benefits of engaging in the outdoors in a way that feels supportive and inclusive of all identities and cultures. Sully Moreno describes how her trail-maintaining trips with exclusively Latina youth not only felt fun and physically healthy for the group, but also helped foster a sense of community and belonging that is often lacking from traditional outdoor recreation spaces for people of color. Moreno argues that while physical barriers are a huge problem in the way of Latine participation in outdoor recreation, there is also the barrier of a lack of community, support, and recognition in these spaces that we can all address in order to make outdoor recreation more inclusive for everyone. 

Hispanic Access Foundation (2022) 10 Ways Access to Nature Can Bolster Biodiversity, Communities, and Climate https://hispanicaccess.org/news-resources/research-library/item/2163-10-ways-access-to-nature-can-bolster-biodiversity-communities-and-climate-report.

Also available in Spanish.

• The Hispanic Access Foundation looks into the relationships between inaccessibility, lack of biodiversity, climate change, and environmental injustices in this report. The authors call for humanity to be included in our notions of biodiversity, and how doing so can help foster a sense of responsibility to the environment. They also urge policy makers and environmentalists to meaningfully communicate with and bolster the voices of local communities of color and Indigenous groups in order to holistically address negative impacts to the environment and human beings. The article calls for Indigenous land and water management, greening urban spaces, and making outdoor activities more accessible to all to name a few. “When nature access for all is attained, the result is better-off communities, better-off ecosystems and a more stable climate” (28).