Just Nature NYC Partnership
A collaboration with the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance will advance a bold vision for a healthy and equitable urban forest.
The climate crisis is worsening, both globally and in New York City. Historically marginalized environmental justice communities—with high densities of low-income residents and people of color—face the greatest risks due to the legacy of housing discrimination and environmental racism and persistent economic inequality.
While these challenges are significant, nature-based solutions, including trees, green roofs, rain gardens and wetlands, can help mitigate climate change impacts while supporting local livelihoods and thriving, active communities. The problem is that nature is not equitably distributed in New York City. To better understand this dynamic, and to ultimately help improve equitable access to nature and its benefits, the Just Nature NYC partnership is centered on the principle that all communities, and particularly those on the frontlines of the climate crisis, deserve access to high-quality nature.
We invite you to read more about the launch of our collaboration, goals for the partnership, and bold vision in our first post on Medium. And, scroll down for further updates on the progress of our partnership.
Our first step in advancing this partnership was to create a primer on why the urban forest is an environmental justice issue and how fostering it can help mitigate climate risks and improve public health in frontline and environmental justice communities. Explore our second post to see how you can help support New York City’s urban forest. Our first two posts are also available in Spanish. And, don’t miss our third post on Medium, where we share more on our webinar exploring how nature-based solutions can help address systemic inequalities.
As part of our partnership with NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, in December 2021 we released the Opportunities for Growth: Nature-Based Jobs in New York City report. This offers an in-depth look at the complexity and variety of nature-based jobs across the five boroughs, establishing a framework to understand these roles and career paths within the New York City labor market. Explore the report and its findings, here.
Nature-Based Jobs
Jobs that directly contribute to natural infrastructure, which ultimately help to enhance human health and well-being while promoting biodiversity.
We encourage you to check back for further updates on Just Nature NYC as our work progresses!
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