Our Journey to Greater Ethnic Diversity

Naomi Gunasekara, 23, from London, studied ecology and environmental science at university but really struggled to find a job after she finished her course. She’d worked extremely hard and yet was turned away every time she applied for a position. It left her frustrated and worried about the future.

Fortunately, Naomi was signposted to London Wildlife Trust’s Keeping it Wild programme, where she gained bags of practical experience – everything from mending fences to maintaining ponds to designing content for social media. At the end of the traineeship, she landed a job as project officer with The Conservation Volunteers. Now, Naomi runs outdoor volunteering sessions where people come together to improve community green spaces and boost their wellbeing along the way.

Naomi says, “I did lots of great theory at university but there wasn’t much practical work. When I applied for jobs, people kept telling me I needed more experience. I’d already done a lot of volunteering off my own back, so it was disheartening when I got rejections over and over again.

“I lacked confidence too. As a young Asian woman, it was disheartening to see very few women or people of colour working in nature conservation. It made me question if I belonged in the sector and whether I should pursue a career doing what I love." 

“The Wild Trainee scheme changed my life. I learnt so much in four months and the staff were incredible. They encouraged us to identity areas I wanted to develop and to set goals. My confidence was back and I knew I was on the right path. At the start of the course, I made a list of everything I wanted to achieve and was delighted that I managed to tick them all.

“Now I’ve got a job working in wildlife conservation, helping to improve green spaces bringing people together, and empowering others to take action for nature. Everyone benefits from this kind of work and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”

Since 2018 London Wildlife Trust’s Keeping it Wild programme has inspired over 1000 young people aged 11-25 to become actively involved in the protection and promotion of London’s natural heritage. Young people have taken part in Environmental Social Action Projects in their communities, completed Paid Traineeships and been involved with the Trust’s our Youth Forum with the overall aim of making nature more inclusive, accessible and relevant to young people living in London.

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Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust first met the Tazini family in the summer of 2018, when the family attended a guided walk to Alney Island Nature Reserve in Gloucester as part of a project to trial bilingual wildlife identification cards (these cards have now been distributed across the whole Wildlife Trust movement). Following their initial trip the family joined the Wildlife Trust's Wild Welcome project and championed it from the start.

The Wild Welcome project was funded by St James Place Charitable Foundation and the Holyroyd Foundation and has allowed Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to run a variety of events, activities and clubs for people who supported by Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS). These activities included after-school and after-college clubs, bushcraft sessions, outreach sessions and family holiday trips. In total the project reached 372 children.

Inspired by the project, the family has continued to explore Gloucestershire’s wild spaces independently. They have recently spent the summer holidays exploring the Forest of Dean where they enjoyed spotting deer!

Ahmad, pictured on the right (with his little brother Abdul and sister Mariya), became a volunteer young assistant for the project. He came to every single afterschool club event, even though halfway through he moved up to secondary school. Ahmad supported the newest children with translation, talked to families on the phone to invite them to holiday sessions in Arabic, and gave ideas about things the project could do.

The people here are kind

In an interview, Amany was asked "How has life changed for you since you first arrived in Gloucester?".

She replied “The people here are kind. It’s a safe place. I like that there are lots of trees and lots of different places to explore. I feel safe here.”

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Aaron, an entomologist, with a passion for bees and wasps, is a previous Natural Prospects trainee. Natural Prospects provided a series of 24 one-year practical conservation training placements with Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust, specifically designed to challenge the barriers that exclude some people from working in the environmental conservation sector, including people from minority ethnic communities. Trainees were provided a bursary and gain qualifications.

Aaron had a Master’s degree in wildlife conservation but found it difficult to get career opportunities in the environment sector. He says joining Natural Prospects, as a community engagement trainee, gave him the backing of an established organisation, and offered him new and different experiences.

Aaron said: “I think Natural Prospects gives people the opportunity to get into conservation, particularly for people who don’t have the access to nature when they’re younger, and people from urban or ethnic minority backgrounds that might be daunted by getting into the conservation sector.

“As a community engagement trainee, I learned about connecting people with nature in their local area, and as part of Natural Prospects was offered a range of different opportunities and discovered more about the broader conservation sector. I also supported the Wildlife Trust’s biological records centre with bee surveying.  

I’d like to see more people from minority ethnic communities, and from working-class backgrounds to get into urban conservation.

When Aaron’s traineeship with the Trust ended, he secured work with Field Studies Council, and then decided to study for a PhD, which is what he’s doing now and includes surveying bees as part of Natural England’s Purple Horizons project that is restoring and connecting nature across 10,000 hectares of heathlands on the fringes of the West Midlands. Aaron continues his close ties with Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust, which is the host organisation for his PhD.   

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Nextdoor Nature is a two-year programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, bringing communities together to help nature flourish where they live and work. The funding is used to appoint Community Organising Leads across the UK, who’ll provide people with the advice and support they need to help nature on their doorstep, and leave a lasting natural legacy to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
 

The principles of Community Organising are that change must come from the communities themselves. For this to work, Nextdoor Nature has recruited these Community Organisers from within the communities they’ll work with. This means that many of our new members of staff reflect the diverse heritages of places around the UK, with minority ethnic communities being represented in growing numbers in our workforce.
 

These community organisers have been taking up their posts throughout the summer of 2022 and their very first task is to go out into their communities, and simply listen.  Nextdoor Nature is about empowering people, by listening to what they want, and then supporting them to take action for nature.
 

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