Grange Audubon Center aims to make itself more accessible to people of color

COLUMBUS, Ohio (COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST) — The Grange Insurance Audubon Center is working to make itself more accessible to people of color in Central Ohio.

That includes hiring a new full-time staff member to launch a community engagement program to “build lasting relationships between neighboring communities of color and their local natural areas,” according to the center.

In the past, the Audubon Center hasn’t always been accessible to all communities, said Leigh Ann Miller, director for the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, which is located at the Scioto Audubon Metro Park.

“There are a lot of barriers in getting to the center,” Miller said. “We’re an urban park, but you still can’t walk to us if you’re from Linden or Franklinton.

“I think there are ways that we need to outreach so that you feel comfortable to Grange and it’s a place of belonging to you. It may have a stigma that it’s really only for people who live in that area.”

Miller said although the center has always had a “rich foundation with working with Columbus City Schools,” it didn’t do much more to attract more diverse communities in Central Ohio.

“That’s where it ended,” Miller said. “(We were connecting with) the kids, but what we weren’t seeing was them coming back with their families. This is a deeper program that focuses on engaging multi-generational audiences of color with accessible and culturally relevant programming.”

Miller is searching for the new staff member now and hopes to embark on this work this spring.

The new hire will run a program called Wild Indigo Nature Explorations that’s been used at Audubon groups in other cities, including Chicago, Gary, Indiana, Detroit and Milwaukee. The position is being partially funded by the National Audubon Society’s Maggie Walker Institute for Audubon Center Innovation.

The programming is designed to “address barriers that prevent communities of color from experiencing and enjoying their local natural areas,” according to the Audubon Center.

“We know there’s been success in breaking down those barriers, but we also have to find culturally relevant activities,” Miller said. “We have to meet people where they are.”

That could include the Grange Insurance Audubon Center going out into the community and arranging programming such as nature hikes and bird-watching in diverse Columbus neighborhoods – “Things that could help connect people in their own neighborhoods,” Miller said.

The Grange Center also is working to improve accessibility by eventually bringing a bus stop closer to the center.

“Our hope is to start having these conversations … as we work with leaders in Columbus, at least bringing their attention to it and seeing what we can do,” Miller said.

For more business headlines, go to ColumbusBusinessFirst.com.