In 2022:
We will build awareness and foster an inclusive culture by listening, learning and being honest. We will ensure everyone feels valued, accepted and enabled to reach their full potential without pressure to conform.
• We have reviewed our key organisational company documents. We have developed an active feedback loop that has allowed the organisation to listen, learn and act. The lived experience of colleagues has contributed to policy development, review and key organisation decisions, such as:
Trailing a 9-day fortnight
Pay Policy
Flexible working policy
Bullying and Harassment policy – zero tolerance.
Real living wage employer accreditation
Disability Confident Employer
Mental Health First Aid training across the organisation
• We have a dedicated inclusion manager and have launched a staff network which has supported in producing an organisation wide action plan with accountability to Senior Leadership and Board.
We will work to reduce the barriers that prevent people accessing nature. We will ensure more people from diverse backgrounds are accessing and engaging with nature in Derbyshire.
• We are connecting with a range of communities through our Wilder Wellbeing and Communities work. Some of the community organisations worked with include Derby Refugee Forum, Derbyshire Mind, Women’s Work and Royal Crown Derby. We are listening and acting.
• We have launched projects such as Nextdoor Nature and Team Wilder, designed to work with individuals and community groups to help nature flourish on their doorsteps.
• We have begun the work needed in making our spaces accessible to all, assessing our nature reserves and working with universal design in mind and practise.
We will ensure Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has a wide range of opportunities for people from all backgrounds to gain work experience and skills in nature conservation.
• The use of early career programmes such as working for nature and our early talent stream of work experience, trainees, interns, and placements has allowed us to welcome even your diverse voices and minds to the Trust, allowing us to shift barriers to employment within our sector.
• In the last year we have had over 20 opportunities created across the organisation for traineeships, placements and internships.
• Additionally, we have recently completed a 4-year project alongside two other Wildlife Trust organisations designed to train 24 people with no previous experience or qualifications in the sector. The individuals developed hands-on practical experience and vital professional skills to help take that first step to a career in conservation.
We will ensure we have a diverse workforce, Board, volunteer and supporter base that is more reflective of the communities that we serve.
• We have addressed and reviewed our recruitment practices and have learnt and continue to learn from expertise to allow us to confidently say we practice inclusive recruitment within our organisation.
• Inclusion training has been undertaken by Trustees and staff
• We have improved our data collection and monitoring practices on EDI
In 2023:
We have three key priority areas, we want to achieve the following three objectives…
Be an organisation that represents our communities within Derbyshire and Derby City.
We want everyone to feel celebrated, recognised and valued.
We want inclusion to be our everyday, to be at the heart of what we do.