GREENFIELD — The Human Rights Commission initiated a discussion Monday night on environmental justice and the “nature gap,” a conversation that board and community members expressed interested in continuing.
Environmental injustice is a situation in which people of color, low-income people and other historically excluded or marginalized groups are “systematically and disproportionately exposed to or affected by environmental burdens or other noxious land uses,” according to Neenah Estrella-Luna of StarLuna Consulting. However, it also involves the systematic and disproportionate denial of access to environmental amenities.
Estrella-Luna explained that inclusion and belonging are the key operating principles of environmental justice- and equity-centered work.
“Environmental justice is primarily a civil rights and, by extension, a human rights issue,” Estrella-Luna said. “Most people think it’s about environmental health or public health; it’s not. It’s about civil rights and human rights.”
Monday’s discussion, which took place both remotely and in person at the John Zon Community Center, was inspired by Wendy Goodman, a member of the Human Rights Commission, who attended a nature gap webinar and applied that experience to what she’d been watching happen with respect to access to the Green River.
“This became a bigger question, and as we brought it forward to the Human Rights Commission, people have been really excited, because this is a human rights issue,” Goodman said. “Access to nature and access to having a clean and healthy environment has finally been deemed by the (United Nations) as a human rights issue, even though we’ve been talking about it for a while.”
In Greenfield, physical and financial access to the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area was of concern to board and community members who spoke. After presentations from a handful of city officials and environmental justice experts, community members expressed a need for improved public transportation to this location, among others in the area.
“As far as transportation, you are 100% correct,” responded Recreation Director Christy Moore. “When we did the Master Plan in 2014, that was something I pushed for and advocated for.”
She said while a bus does stop by the swimming area, its hours of service aren’t necessarily convenient.
“Public transportation is a real issue,” Moore said.
She noted that the city is surrounded by four rivers, and figuring out how to financially and environmentally improve access to those areas should be an important goal.
“There’s a lot of limits to what we can do, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” she said. “We just have to find a way to make it happen.”
Resident Stephanie Duclos asked city officials how they plan to reach out to minority and low-income communities who have historically been denied access to these outdoor amenities.
“We have low-income housing communities who do have very good access to the bike path and the water, but what is our outreach, as far as officials and the town?” Duclos asked. “How are we reaching out and saying these things are available?”
Moore responded that the city does outreach to housing development coordinators.
“I’m lucky I work so closely … with the schools,” she added. “So we have access to providing information to every student.”
Mpress Bennu, a member of the Human Rights Commission, noted a lack of diversity present during Monday night’s meeting.
“The last census that was taken in Greenfield — there’s 391 African Americans in Greenfield, and only one is here tonight. Why is that?” she said. “It’s sad for me, because I am so into the community and I see the great work the town of Greenfield is doing to … bridge that gap, but what can we do to bring more people like myself to the table? I can’t speak for every African American in our community. They need a voice.”
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne