Join us on the first wednesday of each month for new episodes.
In our February episode, Kisha Reid talks with Atiya Wells, a pediatric nurse with a passion to educate, connect and share nature with families in Baltimore Maryland. While learning more about our natural world, she often noticed that she could count the number of BIPOC folks in the room on one hand.
Diving into research and history, she learned that ancestral wounding and historical trauma are key players in the lack of diversity in nature-based programming. She has dedicated her time to slowly introducing BIPOC folks to nature by starting with nature walks in their own neighborhoods, eventually embarking on a journey into the many wild spaces across Baltimore.
Guest bio:
Atiya founded and is Executive Director of Backyard Base Camp, Inc. – A nonprofit with a mission to (re) connect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to land and nature. Backyard Base Camp provides Professional Development, Public Speaking, Urban Environmental Education, Village Building, Garden Consultations and Support, Health and Wellness Programs, and BLISS Meadows, A 10-acre land reclamation project where camps and programs are held.
resources
Research out of Finland, through the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) showed, for the first time in the world, that the immune system of daycare children of three to five years improved its regulation when forest undergrowth, lawn turf and planter boxes were added to yard areas of daycare centres.
Our advisory board member, William Crain, recently wrote a beautiful piece on the reasons to protect nature.
Guest contact information
Contact: info@backyardbasecamp.org
You can follow Atiya on Twitter
You can follow Backyard Basecamps on Facebook