Working with the Washington State Parks Foundation and Washington State Parks, MxM team members facilitated a “journey-mapping” exercise to understand the barriers faced by black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in accessing and using state park lands. These invaluabe commmunity resources were well loved by many Washingtonians, but were not being used nearly as well by communities of color.

Partnering with BIPOC led groups, we helped facilitate seveal conversations that unpacked barriers to particpation for these communities. From website design and translation, to people’s experiences at the site, to the follow-up experiences once they were home, our work revealed several stumbling blocks to participation, and helped Washington State Park define a course to remove them in years to come, including online translation, ranger-led programming, wayfinding and educational signage, and increased cooking resources.