INCLUSIVENESS
Thorne Nature Experience believes that to remain relevant as an organization and ensure access to joyful, hands-on, place-based environmental education experiences for all youth, its programs, leadership, and participants must reflect the range of diversity, culture, and unique differences in our community.
Thorne’s Board approved its first Inclusiveness Plan in 2013, and the most recent version of the plan was updated in 2021. Thorne’s original Inclusiveness Plan helped guide the organization to increase internal awareness of the importance of inclusiveness, develop and successfully implement a plan for hiring, recruiting, and retaining staff and volunteers from a diverse applicant pool, scaffold curriculum to meet the needs of English language learners, develop Spanish language materials, and expand programming for underserved youth. The current Inclusiveness Plan builds on these successes through the pursuit of six goals designed to deepen internal and external inclusiveness practices with emphasis placed on outreach to and engagement of the local Latino community. CLICK HERE to read the current Inclusiveness Plan.