POMPANO BEACH, Fla. - Aug. 16, 2020 - Attiyya Atkins, environmental activist and 2019 National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Diversity Scholar, says urban parks are falling short of their community responsibility. "Parks are for the people, but urban parks and those in minority communities are frequently filled with crime, litter, and blight. In general, there is a lack of appreciation for these spaces." Atkins says that overlooking these parks is an injustice that has lasted far too long, and it correlates with the Black Lives Matter movement.
On Season 2, Episode 9 of the "Let's Talk Parks" podcast, hosted by Anthony Iracki, Atkins dives deep with "Environmental Education and Minority Students: Unlocking the Latent Potential of Urban Parks." The episode shows the inherit biases within park systems, lack of program offerings for black and at-risk students in urban settings, and how to overcome misconceptions about nature in the African American and minority communities.
"It's about equity, giving students purpose, and allowing them to think of ways to protect our planet from climate change," Atkins said. "We can change the world if we put this environmental information in our young folk, right where they're at, where parks mean something to them."
As part of an environmental education initiative Atkins spearheaded, she compared the environmental education experiences of black students at their neighborhood park compared to black students bused to a white neighborhood park for similar experiences. The students who attended the session in the neighborhood park retained more species-specific information, and displayed more eco-cognizant attitudes according to survey results.
Atkins hopes that parks around the globe will implement environmental education programs targeted at black and at-risk youth to help the students develop a love for their community that will inspire them to protect it in the wake of climate change. Atkins research which will appear in the National Park and Recreation's (NRPA) 2020 Virtual Conference Book of Abstracts, Oct. 27-29,2020.
ABOUT LET'S TALK PARKS
Let's Talk Parks by Anthony Iracki is a podcast features stories of the Next Generation of Park Leaders who are navigating their career and finding purpose through parks and recreation. https://letstalkparks.com/
ABOUT ATTIYYA ATKINS
Attiyya Atkins is an accomplished author, publisher, and businesswoman. She is also a community activist, parks enthusiast, and the founder of A+ Editing & Content Creation, a full-service agency dedicated to crafting, publishing, and marketing your content. For more information, please visit: https://www.apluseditor.com
Contact
A+ Editing & Content Creation
