Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Philadelphia City Nature Challenge is a celebration of the diversity of wildlife in and around our city. To truly embrace the diversity of wildlife, we need to embody the diversity of people who call this city home. We are committed to welcoming and engaging people across all races, ethnicities, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, religions, disabilities, age, and socio-economic backgrounds. While love for nature transcends these differences, we need to acknowledge that they do exist and the opportunity to enjoy nature can be impacted by these very differences. And it is only by including and empowering human diversity that we can get a broad range of perspectives that are critical to our mission to better understand the biodiversity of our region.

We condemn all forms of hate, discrimination, and prejudice and we believe that all people should be able to enjoy outdoor spaces free from harassment. While Philadelphia is a diverse city, the naturalist community in Philadelphia isn’t so diverse. We acknowledge that we haven’t done enough to make sure that this is addressed and we aim to do better. We pledge to increase programs in under-served areas, and actively reach out to communities of color and other disadvantaged communities to make sure that they are represented in citizen science efforts.