● Storytelling
Telling accurate stories about our outdoor spaces
It’s key to building a justice-oriented conservation and outdoor recreation movement.
This means confronting the history of Colorado’s public lands as stolen Indigenous lands that have been historically segregated, excluding Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
The Storytelling Working Group celebrates the racially and culturally diverse leaders who are the past, present, and future stewards of Colorado.
● Overview
Conversations Series
Our Conversations Series invites leaders in civil rights, conservation, outdoor equity, public health, and/or other related movements to share their stories and dialogue with the membership.
Past speakers include John Echohawk, founder and executive director of the Native American Rights Fund; Happy Haynes, executive director of Denver Parks and Recreation; Nita Gonzales, Chicana activist and educator; and Derek Okubo, Amache descendant and executive director of the Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships for the City and County of Denver, Vu Le, co-founder of Community-Centric Fundraising and creator of Nonprofit AF; Steven Dunn, author of WATER & POWER and POTTED MEAT; Regina Jackson, co-founder of Race 2 Dinner and co-author of White Women: Everything you already know about your own racism and how to do better; and Rafael Salgado, Executive Director of Cal-Wood Education Center.
Policy Engagement
The storytelling working group has engaged state agencies on specific outdoor sites and in broader policy guidance related to inclusive and equitable stakeholder engagement for park planning, interpretation at parks, park naming and renaming, and other policy efforts related to storytelling.
In all of our policy work, we center the experiences and stories of people of color who are impacted by decisions made about our public lands.
Elevating Voices Documentary
We partnered with the Salazar Center for North American Conservation at Colorado State University and Relight Creative to provide mentorship and hands-on learning opportunities to CSU students related to conservation, storytelling, and film production.
The students completed a documentary film called “Elevating Voices” about climate, equity, and conservation in 2022.
Our coalition held two screenings of the film and facilitated conversation about climate and conservation equity, and supported two additional screenings from local nonprofit organizations.