Using stories to create an enviroment where everyone belongs
Dr. Mandi Baker's new book, Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure: Whose Body Belongs, looks at how some people feel they do not belong outdoors.
In Manitoba, we love to talk about “getting out to the lake,” heading to Whiteshell, or walking in our city parks. But for many people, the outdoors doesn’t always feel neutral or welcoming, it can feel like a space built for certain bodies, cultures or abilities more than others.
Dr. Mandi Baker, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba, is co-editor of a new book that looks at why outdoor spaces feel safe and freeing for some perople, but intimidating, exclusionary or even unsafe for others. The book is titled Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure: Whose Body Belongs?
Telling honest stories
Each chapter of the book details the experiences of various groups who have historically been excluded. They talk about race, age and disabilities in outdoor recreation. Baker says it was important to her and co-editor, Dr. Neil Carr, that the book told the “real and raw” stories of people who have felt excluded.
“What has it been like to have to be discriminated against, to be left out or to be treated unfairly and unkindly?” says Baker. “How do you get through it? Or if not, how can we help tell the stories of people who haven’t figured it all out and are just talking about how messy or hard it is just to be a person in these situations.”
Baker says they received over 70 applicants for the book, ranging from academics to business owners. The project was Baker’s first time editing a book. She says much of her previous work has been about the theory of leisure, but a part of her “never felt at ease” until her work was being used in real life.
Dr. Mandi Baker recently published a new book with co-editor Neil Carr that focuses on experiences in outdoor recreation.
I think when we tell stories there’s a connection between people.
Connecting research to everyone
“In academia, we can often talk to each other and forget to speak with the real people doing these things every day,” she says.
This is why Baker says the book focuses more personal accounts than the technical side. She says while the academic discussions try to represent everyday people’s stories, they can get so technical that the feels in the research are lost.
“I think when we tell stories there’s a connection between people,” she says. “Storytelling is relational and about connecting with real people and where they are actually in their lives.”
Baker hopes the book connects with emerging leaders and decision makers in the outdoor industry. She says the diversity of voices will help decisions makers understand the unique problems facing marginalized communities.
The book Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure: Whose Body Belongs is co-edited by Dr. Mandi Baker, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at UM, and Dr. Neil Carr, Professor at Otago University.
The book is published by CABI and available in hardcover, ePDF, and ePUB editions.
