Inclusion | Diversity | Equity | Accessibility
I.D.E.A is a Shared Vision
For nearly 30 years, our mission at NVCT has been to add and sustain abundant, thriving natural places in our Virginia communities. The significance of that mission has only increased, and we envision a Northern Virginia that balances a quickly developing area with land, water, and wildlife, maintaining its tranquility and positive ecological benefits for the millions of people in our region. To achieve our mission and execute our vision, we must cultivate inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in every facet of our work.
Regardless of our backgrounds, the land, and water surrounding us connect us. Our tagline, "Saving Nearby Nature," should not be misunderstood as just the grass in your lawn or the flowers in your pots, but instead, it is about saving you, the place you live, the water you drink, the food you eat, and every other living critter that share this place.
THE IMPACT OF DIVERSITY
"The broader environmental movement's longstanding lack of diversity is both an ethical problem and a powerful limit on its effectiveness. The NVCT must reflect the region it serves – one of the most diverse in the country."
-Ranjit Singh, NVCT Board Chair
Why IDEA is Part of Our Daily Goals
If we are to truly execute this vision of a more equitable NOVA, we must address conservation's systemic injustices and how these inequities affect Northern Virginia's people and communities.
Often, our diverse communities lack the resources and direct access to green space, creating an unhealthy human-nature divide that is not as prominent in less diverse neighborhoods. We at NVCT believe conservation is vital in shrinking that divide, combining public and private conservation easements throughout Northern Virginia, preserving a connective tissue of green infrastructure, and placing access to nature at the forefront of our initiatives.
Our tagline has not changed, and neither has our goals. We are simply targeting inequality in the conservation space to ensure our work impacts everyone because regardless of whether you own 40-acres or four, this earth belongs to us all.
Inclusion - The act of encouraging and welcoming authentic participation of all people in our community and conservation practices to promote diversity of ideas, voices, and backgrounds.
Diversity - Continuously pursuing involvement with various places and people to ensure an organization that is multifarious in its work, ideas, opinions, views, and representation.
Equity - Identifying inequities and creating custom resources and opportunities to create fair and equal access to nature for all.
Accessibility - Diligently working to break down barriers that prevent spaces and opportunities from being attainable and open to all.
A MORE INCLUSIVE SPACE
"As I've gotten older, it's been increasingly interesting, especially for me to think about how we're preparing our world in the future. To be open so that nobody ever feels left out in any way, simply. I don't want my peers to feel like they don't belong in an urban landscape if they don't look a certain way."
-Shruti Kuppa NVCT Board Member/IDEA Committee Chair
