Ethnic minorities can sometimes feel isolated and removed from the environment and involvement in local green space as these have traditionally been seen as white middle class issues. This, of course, is a great misconception and involving all cultures in your local area will help generate interest in the green environment across all sectors of society.
Your urban wildlife site can be a source of great pride and bring many recreational and educational benefits to all of the ethnic groups in your community. It can be used in creative ways to celebrate the cultural diversity of your area. You could, for example, arrange for a group of school children, complete with costumes, to provide an enactment of their cultures, traditions and social history. Celebrate the Chinese New Year with a dragon dance. You could organise your own multicultural festival, collaborating with other community groups to hold a day celebrating the diversity of music, food, language and religion that makes up the fabric of your community. For more information about involving ethnic minorities in your project contact
Black Environment Network,
9 Llainwen Uchaf
Llanberis
Gwynedd
Wales
LL55 4LL
You could have regular visitor’s days, remembering to invite representatives of the media, to publicise the success of your project and, hopefully, to attract more assistance and possibly, some sponsorship. It takes time to organise an event but it is well worth the effort that you put into it. You could :
• Organise a guided walk to teach people about local wildlife
• Encourage children to come along to the site to participate in environmental games and face painting.
• Involve local businesses, encouraging them to sponsor the event by providing refreshments, display posters in their shop windows or allow their staff to participate in activities.
• Arrange a work day with activities such as tree planting, removing litter and creating areas for people to sit in.
