A charity supporting well-being through relationship with nature.
Each year, instead of sending Christmas gifts to our clients and partners we give a small donation to a charity of our choice which fits with our values around nature connection, health and environment. To date, we have supported Oxfam’s Growing, Providing, Together Beating Hunger project, The Garden Classroom, and The Pear Tree Centre. This year that charity is Wild in the City and here’s why we chose them.
Founded in 2013, Wild in the City supports well-being through relationship with nature. They work from natural settings and offer experiences in hiking, woodland living skills, natural history and ecotherapy.
In the UK by 2030 over 90% of the population will live in urban areas. People are increasingly becoming disconnected from nature and this is having wide reaching global consequences. People of colour are disproportionately affected by this disconnection from nature including detrimental impacts in terms of health, environment and economy.
“The environmental sector has traditionally taken the view that people of colour are not interested in nature or that it isn’t within their culture” leading to “black and Asian people being underrepresented within environmental organisations and within nature-based activities”
The barriers to nature connection for people of colour are huge and varied and Wild in the City is working to overcome these through “increasing black leadership in nature, addressing barriers and negative experiences, increasing a sense of belonging, creating a community of people of colour to enjoy nature with and providing therapeutic re-engagement”.
An oral and direct contact with nature in an increasingly urban world is absolutely essential in protecting both the health of the planet and the health of people who reside on this earth. We need to be a part of nature, not apart from it. Wild in the City is working to connect those who have the least access to green space with nature in the deepest and most empowering ways.
We chose Wild in the City as this year’s charity as they represent Studio 31’s passion for connecting all communities with nature, promoting the health and therapeutic value of the natural world and promoting social justice. Wild in the City research race and inclusion within the environmental field and human-nature relationships and are currently researching the role that parks and open spaces have played within our lockdown experience. Do take their survey here.
Much of the above information is taken from the Wild in the City website and there is a wealth of information there to explore. We recommend reading Covid-19 and the race factor in access to green space by Beth Collier as well as their 2017 impact report. Do also look into their research and consultancy services, courses, programmes, Black Nature Narratives Podcast and most importantly, if it is within your means, donate to support the work they do.
Sending wishes of peace and health for the New Year
All the Team at Studio 31
Photo by Lucas Ludwig
