Race & Nature Symposium

The inaugural symposium on Race and Nature is to be held in Toronto, Canada. The theme, Mapping the Intersection of Race and Nature in Challenging Times, examines how race shapes the ways nature is perceived, accessed, and experienced. As global social and environmental conditions continue to shift, dominant paradigms around nature are being re-examined. At the same time, persistent race-based inequities influence who is able to access, control, and manage natural spaces, and whose knowledge and relationships are recognised and valued. The demographic shift in Canada highlights the disconnect between being a multi-racial society and who has access to nature.

Childhood access to nature shapes future perceptions of nature. About a third of children and youth in Canada are racialised, Black, Indigenous, or are first- or second-generation immigrants. In Toronto, this rises to about half of the youth population. If these children and youth are alienated from nature, have limited access to nature programming, or rarely see themselves represented in nature, it makes it more challenging for them to care about or protect nature. The symposium will critically engage these race-and-nature challenges by centering the voices and lived experiences of Black and other racialised communities. It is the first such event to bring these groups together in Canada. The symposium is for scholars, educators, practitioners, and community leaders from diverse backgrounds, and others who are interested.

Sub-themes in race and nature: K-12 education, food, art, health, climate and social justice, climate mitigation, sustainability, Indigenous relations, funding.