Our DEIJ Statement

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.

In order to more fully accomplish our mission and live our values:

  • We commit to 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, People of Color, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTQ and other communities who have been and continue to be marginalized.

  • We commit to making diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice central tenets of all our initiatives, as well as our organizational structure, policies, Board of Directors, staff, donors, goals, and vision.

  • We commit to actively building a community that is diverse across many dimensions, including race, sex, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability, culture, nationality, socioeconomic status, occupational status, education, life experience, religion, political opinion, and level of comfort and experience with the outdoors.

  • We commit to constantly examining our programming and evolving our practices to eliminate discrimination, ensure fair and equitable treatment for all, and to recognize and involve underrepresented, marginalized, and excluded groups and individuals.

  • We commit to identifying, minimizing, and removing barriers to full and meaningful participation, striving always to include and respect diverse voices, perspectives, knowledge, practices, and lifeways.

  • We commit to meeting the specific needs of community members, staff, and participants by actively providing support and accommodations for differences.

  • We commit to model and promote among our leaders and participants a welcoming, open-minded, inclusive, and respectful attitude.

  • We commit to continually being transparent about our progress and taking concrete action to move us forward towards our goals.

To learn more about our ongoing DEIJ work, or to join our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice Committee to help support the organization in upholding these commitments, visit our DEIJ page.