Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice
Our Commitment
At Free Forest School, we believe young people of all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities deserve and benefit from unstructured play in nature. We believe diversity brings invaluable richness and depth to our local groups and our organization. We welcome participants and leaders of all walks of life, and seek to foster an environment where all people are included, valued, heard, respected, and empowered.
We commit to aligning our values with action by examining the role this organization has played in perpetuating systemic racism. We commit to creating a more inclusive, equitable, and just climate for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTQ and other communities who have been and continue to be marginalized.
Read our full DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice) statement here.
Doing the Work
DEIJ work remains an ongoing, collaborative practice that involves active engagement across the organization and our extended community. We invite you to explore this page to learn more about the work being done, and the ways you can contribute.
Here’s a short list of the work FFS is currently doing:
Quarterly DEIJ Committee meetings led by community members, with sub-committee tasks in between meetings
Offering clear avenues for all community members and volunteers to share input and provide feedback
Ongoing DEIJ training for Board of Directors and staff
Implementing new systems for Board Member recruitment / selection and staff hiring to expand diversity and involve the broader FFS community
Reworking volunteer training materials to increase accessibility and provide explicit DEIJ and anti-racism training
Establishing grievance policies and processes grounded in DEIJ principles that include methods of reporting problems and incidents of discrimination, bias, harassment, or racism
Exploring restorative justice practices to reach community members who have been harmed by actions or inactions of FFS staff, volunteers, or participants
See our full timeline of DEIJ updates here.
Get Involved
Effective and meaningful DEIJ work cannot happen in isolation; it happens in community. Here are a few actions you can take right now:
Join the DEIJ Committee
This volunteer committee meets on a quarterly basis, and in between meetings we work on tasks in smaller sub-committee groups via a Group on the Our Outdoors platform. To join, please complete the Volunteer Agreement and the Committee Volunteer Addendum.
Join the DEIJ Email List
Sign up to receive email updates about upcoming DEIJ Committee meetings and other DEIJ work.
Share your favorite DEIJ resources
Contribute to this collaborative spreadsheet. We will incorporate these resources into our offerings on the Our Outdoors platform and elsewhere as appropriate.