Advancing Racial Equity in Environmental Research: CAREERS Consortium Reflective Workshop
CAREERS: Citizen Science for Advancing Racial Equity in Environmental Research brought together partners from across the environmental and citizen science sectors to reflect on how racially minoritised people are supported in exploring and pursuing environmental careers. The initiative forms part of a wider commitment to advancing race equity within environmental research and practice.
Ayo Barley, MD of Bakare Barley Ltd, curated and facilitated a full-day reflective workshop for the CAREERS super-consortium. The session was designed to create space for meaningful dialogue, collaborative design, and action-focused planning that would strengthen inclusion efforts across partner organisations.
What we did
Working closely with a small subgroup of colleagues, Ayo co-developed and presented a proposed structure and aims for the workshop, which informed the final programme and delivery.
The workshop was intentionally designed to:
Build awareness and promote race equity and cultural humility
Equip participants with practical strategies to create more inclusive organisations
Increase knowledge while remaining action-focused and solution-oriented
Develop both quick wins and longer-term strategic approaches
Approximately 60 participants attended in person in York on 29 January, including partners and supporters from across the consortium and the wider environmental and citizen science space.
Participants were encouraged to engage in reflective dialogue, examine current organisational practices, and explore tangible actions to better support racially minoritised communities within environmental career pathways.
Key themes shaping the workshop
The design and facilitation of the day were guided by several important themes:
Ensuring psychological safety during interactive sessions
Balancing immediate practical actions with longer-term structural change
The importance of staff engagement and clear communication around EDI priorities
Developing racial literacy and acknowledging historical exclusion within environmental science and citizen science
Addressing bias in recruitment processes with concrete, practice-based examples
Drawing on co-production approaches from health sciences as useful models
Encouraging personal and professional commitments during the workshop
Recognising contributions and celebrating progress
The session challenged attendees to think differently about representation within environmental research and to consider both individual responsibility and systemic change.
Outcomes and reflections
The event was a real success, bringing together a diverse range of partners and supporters for meaningful reflection and collaborative action-planning.
There was strong engagement throughout the day and a clear appetite for continued partnership working and implementation of the ideas generated. The workshop created momentum, strengthened shared understanding, and reinforced a collective commitment to improving representation and inclusion within environmental sciences.
To find out more contact info@bakarebarley.com