Diversity in Natural Resources

The Diversity in Natural Resources presentation was interesting. I was surprised that NR majors are not required to take at least one sociology class. There was a lot of focus on socioeconomic status. The presentation barely touched on ability, but kind of neglected ageism and gender and primarily focused on race or being gay. Vulnerability in the outdoors is something that I am familiar with due to being female and hiking alone. It was somewhat surprising to hear that even adult men sometimes feel uneasy in the outdoors.

I really enjoyed the video about changing names. I DO know that Native names are being brought up again, but primarily for publicized places, not in a general region capacity all of the time. History and preserving history are something that I am passionate about. The video was kind of picked apart for white people stating the history, but that was their passion.

That being said, recently, I read an article picking apart words not to say regarding the LGBT community. Much of it, I was surprised about because they were words that we'd been raised with. They were kind of antiquated words, ones we would not use anymore. However, the meanings, when broken down WERE divisive. One in particular was tolerance. The essay was saying that tolerance does not equal acceptance. I started thinking about that and the last time I had heard tolerance, it was being used politically to divide parties and create conflict. We may wonder what's in a word or what is in a name, even though it may not mean something specifically to us anymore, it DOES mean something to others.

I enjoyed the conversation about challenges to getting people outdoors. I thought that the input of "everyone doesn't have to be an expert" was a great reminder. The Parks and Rec district as well as the Family Access Network locally work together to provide lower income families with assistance so children are able to experience activities as well. Local fifth graders go to an outdoor camp experience at the end of the year called Camp Tamarack. They go on hikes, try out canoeing, and other outdoor activities. If you are unable to afford it, they do a scholarship. This year, they were able to obtain a grant to cover all of the costs so parents didn't have to pay the $50 fee. As far as adults go,  I believe the Parks and Rec does a sliding fee scale so it is accessible to all.