The field of conservation biology aims to address the challenges that threaten the persistence of biodiversity. Today’s complex conservation challenges require input and analysis from a variety of voices, vantage points, and expertise. The present day conservation workforce does not, however, reflect the potential diversity that could be brought to bear to address complex conservation issues. Some racial, ethnic, and cultural groups remain underrepresented in the conservation field, due to a combination of historical, financial, educational, and social barriers. Recognizing the need for diversity in the conservation workforce, the CBC created the Enhancing Diversity in Conservation Science Initiative (DI). Advancing the representation of historically underrepresented groups (HUGs) in the field of biodiversity conservation is a natural component of the CBC’s mission of education, research and outreach. Taking on number of activities to achieve our vision, Enhancing Diversity in Conservation Science broadly looks to:

• Identify and support the needs of faculty members in the NYC metropolitan region and beyond who instruct undergraduates and graduates from HUGs at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) in order to promote student diversity in conservation-related fields;

• Build bridges between the CBC/AMNH and institutions and faculty from MSIs on topics related to the conservation of cultural and biological diversity with an interest in raising conservation participation among students from HUGs in their programs; and
  

• Promote the recruitment, achievement, and success of students and early career professionals from HUGs with the intention of encouraging fidelity and retention in the field of conservation.

The CBC kicked off the first of many DI activities during an October 2007 professional development workshop, entitled “Increasing Conservation Literacy and Engagement in the New York Region,” organized by SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities) and NCEP (the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners). Workshop participants were polled regarding their needs and/or obstacles to increasing diversity in the sciences. The event led to the creation of a discussion group comprised of educators serving historically underrepresented students, and the initiation of a collaborative workspace, which extends the discussion to an online web space in which participants from various locations can access information and interact with each other virtually. We look forward to expanding our activities and our interaction in interested individuals in the near future.

Since February 2008, the initiative's first intern, Seamus Boyle, a senior at Urban Academy High School in New York City, has been researching the access people with disabilities have to conservation education and careers. With this information, the diversity initiative aims to facilitate conversation and learning around diversity beyond ethnic and gender differences.