OUR VISION
All Portland youth have access and opportunities for meaningful experiences in urban greenspaces and nature- based programs.
OUR MISSION
Urban Nature Partners PDX empowers youth from historically marginalized Portland populations by building connections to nature and community through long-term mentoring relationships.
OUR VALUES
Equity
We recognize that the more marginalized residents of Portland have traditionally had less access to urban greenspaces as a result of racial, cultural, and economic barriers.
UNP actively dismantles these barriers by developing leadership and change making skills within BIPOC and other marginalized populations. We also leverage ally privileges to increase equity, inclusion, and justice in the outdoors and nature-based programming and professions.
Relationships
We recognize that collaborative relationships are essential to UNP’s impact: internally within UNP, within the communities we serve, and with other organizations that provide outdoor opportunities in Portland’s urban greenspaces and facilitate meaningful connections between people and nature.
UNP leverages these long-term relationships by building trust through transparency and integrity, and sharing decision-making leading to mutual benefits, to further promote inclusion and belonging in urban greenspaces.
Youth Empowerment
We recognize that traditional environmental education curriculum has been biased toward the dominant class, and that youth from marginalized communities have often been stigmatized by perceived deficits and risks.
UNP instead builds upon each youth’s inherent capabilities and strengths, resiliency, family history, and culture to amplify their voice and agency within outdoor spaces and organizations. This includes increased agency and involvement within UNP and appropriate partners over time as they grow in long-term relationships.
