RSPB SAYS IT IS 'LISTENING AND LEARNING' TO BECOME MORE 'DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE'

                                            

Nadeem and Ollie - founders of Flock Together

THE RSPB has pledged to make itself more "diverse and inclusive".

Following concerns that its membership and staff are almost exclusively white, the charity engaged a consultancy to explore how to tackle the imbalance.

The subsequent report came up with a series of high-level recommendations to which the society says it is responding.

A note in its 2020-21 annual report states: "We are making some progress on our journey to become more diverse and inclusive. 

"For example, we  have a network of over 80 dedicated Equality, Diversity and Inclusion champions. 

"They are active across the RSPB raising awareness of EDI issues and helping to identify and overcome barriers.

 "We are also listening to and learning from some wonderful organisations whose purpose it is to bring nature to everyone. 

"Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 lockdown, Nadeem Perera and Ollie Olanipekun set up Flock Together, a birdwatching group specifically for Black and Minority Ethnic communities. 

"Nadeem and Ollie had both been fascinated by nature from an early age, but found people of colour were not represented in groups or activities connecting people to nature. 

"They now have more than 11,000 followers and host monthly walks, with ambitions to launch the movement worldwide."

* Flock Together: instagram.com/flocktogether.world.

The Wryneck says: This is a welcome development. Compared with counterpart conservation organisations in other parts of the world, the RSPB is perhaps lagging. However, in the interests of transparency, it should reveal the recommendations in the consultancy report and state precisely how it is responding to them.