Context and Challenge

In the UK, Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority communities* often face systemic barriers to engaging with the natural environment. Despite long-standing cultural and spiritual connections to the land, these groups remain underrepresented in environmental leadership, outdoor activities, and biodiversity decision-making. Structural racism, uneven access to green spaces, and a shortage or exclusion of culturally relevant initiatives have together produced what researchers describe as a form of “green inequality.”

The PLANET4B project highlights green inequality as a critical leverage point for change. If we want a just and sustainable future, nature-based engagement must become far more inclusive. This means rethinking not only who has access to green spaces, but also who shapes the decisions about land, conservation, and biodiversity.

The Turning Point

The turning point did not arrive with a single event, but through a series of quiet, meaningful exchanges. Over several workshops, members of a Learning Community began sharing personal stories — memories of gardens from childhood, ancestral landscapes, and everyday rituals. The WhatsApp group became a space of emotional connection and mutual learning. One participant, who had never considered herself part of the environmental conversation, shared how she now saw biodiversity in her own backyard. Another realised her food traditions were deeply tied to ecological cycles. These moments of recognition — of seeing oneself reflected in nature and understanding its place within personal histories — became a marker of transformation. The belief that environmental action belonged to “other people” shifted toward a realisation that it also included us — that we are active participants in shaping these futures.

Transformative Change in Action

The transformation began with a group of thirteen individuals from South Asian and African heritage, brought together through a Learning Community facilitated by Coventry University and the grassroots organisation Dadima’s CIC. For many participants, the countryside had long felt like a space of exclusion — marked by microaggressions, unfamiliarity, and a sense of not belonging.

But Dadima’s offered something different. Rooted in intergenerational wisdom and cultural storytelling, the group created a space where participants could share their everyday nature experiences without judgment. Walks through the Chilterns countryside became moments of reflection, joy, and connection. One participant described a walk as a “pilgrimage,” where watching a great-granddaughter pick daisies beside her great-grandfather became a celebration of heritage and healing.

The WhatsApp group evolved into a vibrant digital conversation. Members shared photos, reflections, and articles. They celebrated each other’s milestones and discoveries. The online space became a living archive of community knowledge, emotional support, and biodiversity awareness.

Workshops and storytelling sessions helped participants explore their relationships with nature in new ways. For some, it meant reconnecting with memories of growing up in Africa, where gardens were filled with fruit trees and herbs. For others, it meant realising that biodiversity wasn’t just about distant rainforests — it was about the lemongrass growing in their mother’s backyard, or the birdsong on a morning walk.

As confidence grew, so did action. Participants began to see themselves not just as visitors to nature, but as stewards of it. They reflected on how their choices — what they ate, how they gardened, travelled, how they spoke to others — could influence biodiversity. One participant shared how she had once felt overwhelmed by the idea of “saving biodiversity,” but through the project, she realised that small, local actions mattered. “I thought I couldn’t do it on a smaller scale,” she said. “But I didn’t realise it could be this simple.”

Since becoming involved in the project, one Learning Community member implemented a new recycling policy for printer cartridges at his work, one became a trustee of a local environmental organisation, another is going to volunteer in a local school talking about biodiversity. The community has also collaborated with a filmmaker and a doodler to share their story in creative ways. The case study leaders have organised a conference bringing together key figures in UK nature and inclusion work to share insights from PLANET4B and open up knowledge exchange.  

The collaboration with Dadima’s CIC was central. As a trusted community-led organisation, Dadima’s acted as a cultural bridge, translating environmental language into lived experience. It created a space where inclusion wasn’t just about presence — it was about power, voice, and agency.

Alignment with PLANET4B Goals

This story embodies the PLANET4B vision in multiple ways:

• Intersectionality: The case centres on race, ethnicity, age, and cultural identity, highlighting how these intersect with access to biodiversity.
• Behavioural and Institutional Change: Participants moved from feeling uncertainty to becoming active agents of change, influencing both personal behaviour and community narratives.
• Participatory and Creative Methods: Storytelling, nature walks, and digital dialogue created emotional resonance and collective learning.
• Leverage Points: Community-led initiatives like Dadima’s became key nodes for systemic transformation, challenging dominant narratives and practices in environmental spaces.

Outcomes and Vision

The UK Learning Community demonstrated that transformation occurs when creating safe spaces for reflection, connection, and leadership. We captured participants actively seeking ways to influence their families, communities, and local institutions. In doing so, they reframed biodiversity as something profoundly human, cultural, and relational.

The vision that emerged was one of a just and inclusive society — where all communities are empowered to engage with nature, participate in decision-making, and co-create a thriving, biodiverse future.

Lessons for Broader Application

• Inclusion must go beyond access to embrace agency and leadership.
• Community-led organisations are essential cultural brokers in environmental work.
• Emotional safety and cultural relevance are prerequisites for engagement.
• Everyday experiences and memories are powerful entry points for biodiversity awareness.
• Structural change begins with relational trust and shared ownership.

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*Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities or ‘BAME’ is frequently used to group all ethnic minorities. The term can disguise differences in outcomes between ethnic groups. Many ethnic minorities themselves say they do not like the term ‘BAME’, a finding reinforced by research commissioned by the Cabinet Office Race Disparity Unit (RDU)