CCCN Fall Learning Series: Applying Systems Change for Children’s Equitable Access to Nature in Your City
Join us for this hands-on workshop to identify unique systems levers for cities to advance equitable access to nature for children.
This second session of a three-part series engages participants in applying a system change framework to their city or program. The session offers an opportunity to deepen understanding of the underlying conditions that often hinder change at a systems level. Participants will then workshop the tools and resources covered in the earlier sessions and apply them to their own work through smaller breakout sessions and work groups.
It is facilitated by experienced staff from Cities Connecting Children to Nature (CCCN), a national partnership of NLC and C&NN, Justice Outside, a CCCN partner focused on advancing racial justice and equity in the outdoors, and National Recreation and Parks Association, a core partner of this learning series.
Recommended prerequisite: Cities Embracing a Framework of Systems Change to Connect Children to Nature More Equitably Webinar
About the series:
We know that nature makes kids healthier, happier and smarter. Unfortunately, not all kids have the same access to nature and green spaces. Longstanding conditions, such as policies, power dynamics, resource allocations and systemic racism create unequal access to nature’s benefits, particularly for kids of color and from low-income communities. Achieving real and lasting change requires a community-based approach to dismantling systems of inequity, or in other words, a systems change approach.
This series will dive into how cities and their local partners can use a systems change approach to connect children to nature more equitably. The 3-part series includes two informative webinars that serve as a foundation for understanding a systems change framework followed by an interactive workshop for participants to apply the insight gained.
Presented by:
In partnership with:
WHEN
October 26, 2021
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm CDT
COST
Free
Facilitators
Monica Lopez Magee
Sr VP for Cities and Community Engagement for C&NN
Monica Lopez Magee helps city and community leaders develop programs, policies, and partnerships to provide children and families access to nature and its many health and academic benefits. She draws upon her master’s degree in Public Leadership from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, undergraduate studies in environmental science, a decade leading and facilitating youth and family programs in New York City and Houston, TX, and her cultural heritage to create nature-based solutions that prioritize communities of color, transform public spaces, and foster love and stewardship of the natural world. Her dedication to the outdoors carries into her personal life where she serves on an Austin, TX independent school district advisory committee, enjoys gardening, and volunteers with her family.
Rena Payan
Senior Programs Manager
Rena is tasked with working toward equity and representation in the outdoor field by supporting young adults from diverse backgrounds through training that will develop them into outdoor leaders, stronger community advocates, and more confident stewards of the Earth.
Having grown up in the Central Valley of California, Rena was surrounded by the outdoors, but did not find her passion for outdoor education and youth development until she worked at Pathfinder Ranch in the San Bernardino National Forest. During her time at Pathfinder, Rena worked as an assistant horse wrangler, outdoor educator, high ropes facilitator, and occasional mad scientist, ultimately finishing her years there as the medical director for their outdoor education school and summer camp programs. Following her mountain life, Rena moved to the Bay Area by way of Montana and settled in San Francisco, where she worked as the Teen Programs Coordinator at the Richmond Village Beacon. While at the Beacon Rena developed and supported afterschool programs that served over 200 high schoolers a day. During the summer Rena created and ran “Venture Out”, an outdoor program for high school and middle school youth that took them to Point Reyes to backpack and explore the national shoreline.
Rena currently volunteers with Bay Area Wilderness Training as an instructor and Board member. She is also a graduate from the California School Age Consortium’s (CalSAC) Leadership Development Institute and enjoys every chance she gets to go outside.
To contact Rena, send her an email at rena@justiceoutside.org.
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