DIVERISTY & INCLUSION

Belonging matters

Our aim

STfL is committed to building community practice and participation which reflects the richly diverse population in Lewisham. We believe the most suitable people to implement and support us in these tasks are people within the community. As a charity we welcome those of all backgrounds and wish to represent our community in its entirety; to support and provide for people of all ages, races, faiths, cultures, genders, sexual orientations and abilities. But doing and performing diversity requires attending to difference. Talking about diversity can be hard, but not talking about our differences is often dangerous. STfL wishes to tackle diversity head-on and make talking about it a part of our daily routine. Over the last few years, we have become visible in the community through street tree planting and want to continue building on our success, but we also want to build a reputation for inclusive community participation. Our ambition is to change the face of community participation by thinking differently about the creative contribution that diversity brings into STfL.

How will we get there?

  • We want to understand our community better, including the challenges.

  • We want to value, trust and be responsible towards each other.

  • We want to share our perspectives, encourage others to do the same, and collaborate together to achieve the same goals.

  • We want to understand and celebrate our diverse community of individuals.

  • We want to bring together that diverse mix of minds, background and experiences that we have in the borough to cultivate an inclusive team at STfL.

  • We want to invite and welcome volunteers and street representatives from our community to join us in developing STfL into creating new futures.

  • We want to continue to become a charity that values diversity and community at the heart of our thinking.

  • Join us in embracing diversity so that we can build upon and coordinate our many diversities.

  • We will learn and grow better with the realisation that we are truly all working toward the beneficial goals of planting new trees together. 

This is our first piece of work on diversity, inclusion and belonging, but we aim to add to it regularly as we evolve as a charity and as the world evolves around us. If you have any feedback or suggestions for tweaks or additions, we would love to hear from you.