Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Sonoma County Regional Parks promotes equitable access for all

Sonoma County Regional Parks is committed to ensuring all residents have equitable access to the benefits parks provide. We value diversity and are committed to achieving equity and racial justice. Whatever your race, ethnicity, religion, country of origin, language, abilities, socio-economic status, sexual orientation or gender — you are welcome in our parks.

Parks are more critical than ever for people to access the outdoors, to maintain mental health and to stay physically active. Parks can provide a crucial break in screen time for both children and adults, and can provide a low-cost way to manage anxiety.

We understand that people of color have long faced unequal opportunities in all aspects of their lives, including access to parks and the natural world. We work to ensure all people have access to parks and are involved in developing park services. We focus on quality educational and recreational programs, safe facilities, investing in projects that address identified disparities, and supporting policies that help our most vulnerable communities.

We believe in equitable access to parks for all to create a just, healthy and resilient community.

Parks for All starts with all of us

We realize that the foundation of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) in our parks starts with us – Regional Parks employees. Aligning our efforts with the Sonoma County Office of Equity and our department’s strategic priorities, we have an internal JEDI group that ensures our practices and decisions are made with equity as a top focus.

We recognize that the collective history of land conservation has come with a real price. We realize our work sits on a foundation of inequity, that indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their lands in Sonoma County, that systemic racism barred entire communities from enjoying our wild lands.

While we can’t erase past injustices, we are working to right some of those wrongs with the work we are doing today. We produce quality educational and recreational programs and provide safe facilities for all people. We invest in improvement projects that address identified disparities and support policies and programs that support our most vulnerable communities.

We began training our staff in implicit bias and the history of racial inequality in this country. We have adopted the ambitious goal of making our staff mirror the county’s demographics within five years. And we have expanded programs benefiting under-served communities and investing in youth of color.

A few years ago we adopted the slogan “Parks for All.” This phrase rings truer than ever at this moment in history. Please join us in helping deliver parks for all.

Efforts with underserved communities

Regional Parks works directly with communities impacted by inequities to uplift their voices and give them access to the myriad benefits that parks provide — physical, mental and emotional health benefits found in nature and community connections.

We offer avenues for communities to be involved in park planning projects. We create educational and recreational programs for people with disabilities and those in marginalized communities. We develop career pathway programs for youth furthest from opportunities. We partner closely with community organizations that work with underserved populations and tribal communities in our region. We work with our city and non-profit partners to bring new parks and trail access to neighborhoods and regions of the county that have been historically under-developed with park assets.