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How can you apply this information to your outdoor program? Following are some questions to ask yourself that can serve as a checklist of ways to start or continue addressing DEI personally and in your outdoor programs:
While these questions and ideas certainly aren’t comprehensive, they can serve as a guide to help assess where you are personally and where your outdoor program stands. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of self-educating on DEI issues in outdoor recreation and education. Several resources are listed at the end of this article to get you started on reading. Have open dialogues about difficult DEI topics with your colleagues, staff, students, friends, and family (maybe not the last one—that depends!). Becoming more knowledgeable about why the field continues to marginalize diverse groups, particularly in leadership, is critical to effecting any foundational DEI change in outdoor education. This research study will be submitted for journal publication soon, so stay tuned for a full discussion of the findings.
Elizabeth Rogers is an associate instructor at the University of Utah's Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence.