CON SER VA TION
Why should I care about it?
My name is Dyaami D’Orazio and I am the first Conservation Diversity Fellow at the Open Space Institute (OSI) for 2016–2017. OSI is a land trust, working to increase the conservation of and access to natural landscapes. Growing up in the Bronx, my mother exposed me to gardening and parks. Although access to quality food, green spaces, hiking, and swimming should be for everyone there are barriers for certain communities. Whether it is transportation, pollution or working several jobs, nature can feel far away and out of touch. This zine project is inspired by information I came across later in my education around environmental issues and my desire to share it. My intention is to illuminate connections we might overlook, to share the work people do to make the environmental field inclusive and relevant, and to challenge traditional concepts of conservation. Conservation is nestled in the much larger context of the environment, and we must continue to share what we know, work together, and encourage relationships to land and history.
I want you to see yourselves in these pages, to learn something new, to feel inspired, and to strengthen a relationship to the earth that is much more than struggle. I invite you to parks, to community gardens, to make time for yourself, to heal, and to bond with others. If there is one place we should be able to be our whole selves, it is in nature. 1
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What does conservation look like?
Restoration Brings natural areas back to health
Community Gardens A plot of land used by local residents for growing plants
D E Conservation V Easements E Prevents land from development; maintains working farms and L community forests O P E D Developed: land rights bought for businesses and housing
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Wild: the idea that
there are natural areas ‘untouched’ by humans
Parks Land designated as a local/state/federal park for recreation, tourism, and access to nature
W I L D
Large Landscape Conservation Land conserved for wildlife, carbon sequestration, clean water, ‘forever wild’
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Environmental Leaders Elizabeth Yeampierre is a national
Puerto Rican Climate Justice leader of African and Indigenous Ancestry. Locally she has doubled the amount of open space in her community, stopped siting of power plants, helped pass legislation, organized mass mobilizations and developed intergenerational leadership while focusing on grassroots climate change planning.
Dorceta Taylor was the first black
woman to graduate from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She has written 3 books on conservation and is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Michigan among other achievements.
Elizabeth Hoover is an Assistant
Professor at Brown University. She works on environmental justice in Native American communities, indigenous farming and subsistence revival movements, Native American museum curation, and community engaged research.
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What is a land trust? • • • • •
Non-profit organization Local and/or regional Buys the rights to a piece of land Sells or donates land for protection Works with private landowners
Land trusts also build relationships between the community and natural areas!
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Who do they partner with? Land trusts often partner with various groups to make conservation projects possible: • • • • •
Non-profit organizations Other Land Trusts Foundations Government organizations Individual donors
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Works Cited Women’s History Month: Women’s Role in the Fight for Environmental Justice
Access and Awareness Webinar Series Presented by Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks Shared by Jeanine Finley, Program Coordinator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Conservation Easement Handbook
By Elizabeth Byers and Karin Marchetti Ponte Land Trust Alliance, 2005
The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection By Dorceta E. Taylor Durham: Duke UP, 2016
Artwork by Gaby Hurtado-Ramos
We Are Seeds (Page 6) La Puya (Pages 9–10)
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Thank You! To the people who have paved the way before me and who continue this work. To the Open Space Institute for their knowledge and support. To my family and friends for their love. To all of you for reading!