Episode Six - A Walk in the Woods with Ronda

In late January, PNBI host Ronda Lee Chapman was feeling a little stuck on how the podcast should cover Black History Month. Stuck in her feelings. Stuck in her thinking. So what better way for Ronda to think, reflect, and get unstuck, than to get out into nature and take a walk in the woods.

In this reflection episode, Ronda unpacks her thoughts around Black History Month, Black futures, the importance of rest and reflection, sitting with discomfort, and what it means to celebrate history while also keeping an eye to the future.

“Black history is also this moment. We don't always have to be [looking] in the rearview mirror. We need to honor it. We need to respect it… But I also don't want us to forget about the future. We need to be thinking many generations ahead.” 

Trust for Public Land
Connecting everyone to the outdoors™
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...

“The land loss that Black Chicago has experienced in the last decade—it stops here,” says Naomi Davis, founder of Blacks in Green.

Today on PNBI, we’re talking about Self-Determination and the challenges around how communities and individuals are able to shape their economic, cultural, and social futures. To dig into this important topic, we’re joined by Naomi Davis, founder of the Blacks in Green (BIG™), and TPL’s newest National Board member Anton Seals Jr., founder of Grow Greater Englewood. 

Blacks in Green is a national network for environmental justice and economic development that focuses on the “Sustainable Square Mile,” an economically self-sustaining walkable village designed to build Black wealth and power. TPL is supporting BIG’s efforts to create a series of 16 gardens across Chicago that honor luminaries of the Great Migration. The first of these is the Mamie Till-Mobley Forgiveness Garden, a converted vacant lot that offers a place for healing and respite.

Grow Greater Englewood is a social enterprise organization that works with residents and developers to create sustainable local food economies, green businesses, and land sovereignty to empower residents to create wellness and wealth. 

In this wide-ranging conversation, Naomi, Anton and Ronda discuss how their organizations connect Black residents and communities to the outdoors, food, sustainability, energy, and climate resilience, while creating pathways for economic enterprise. 

Trust for Public Land
Connecting everyone to the outdoors™
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...

In this deeply moving episode of 'People, Nature, Big Ideas,' we're joined by Alysa Morley. While advocacy might not be her job title, her journey and the synergy with TPL's mission have profound implications for those seeking access and representation in the great outdoors. As part of the marketing team at Trust for Public Land (TPL), Alysa has witnessed firsthand the synergy between her personal experiences and TPL's mission. As a person living with a disability, she knows the weight of exclusion one can feel when it comes to enjoying the outdoors. As a child, she recalls watching from the classroom as other kids played on the playground. These memories have deeply influenced her perspective and contributions at TPL, an organization that's pioneering projects for people with disabilities. Together with Ronda, Alysa delves into topics of education, gratitude, and the importance of owning one's disability. Their conversation is a heartfelt exploration of the intersections between people, nature, and the transformative ideas that bridge them, while also addressing the dangers of 'othering'. 

Trust for Public Land
Connecting everyone to the outdoors™
tpl.org  | Instagram | Facebook   
...

More and more, people of color are being recognized for the variety of ways they step forward to engage with their communities. Whether it’s to help design and build community parks as we’ll discuss in this episode—or, as in our first episode with Tykee James, to apply outdoor activities such as birding as ways to build connections between civil rights history and the Black experience. There are all sorts of unique and exciting ways folks of color are bringing their unique perspectives and backgrounds to help inform the future of conservation.

To talk through these ideas, host Ronda Lee Chapman welcomes Jeresneyka Rose and Chris Urias, two CORE fellows at TPL (CORE stands for Community Outreach with Resident Experts). These two are talented. They’re activists and community leaders. They’re fresh. And they are people of color. Not to put too much pressure on these two individuals, but we think, in their hearts and spirits—and in their love for their communities—they reflect the direction that conservation is, and should be, going.

Trust for Public Land
Connecting everyone to the outdoors™
tpl.org  | Instagram | Facebook   
...

In this second installment of the new TPL podcast, host Ronda Lee Chapman talks with parks, recreation, and conservation professional Mickey Fearn about the interplay of nature and community, being the “weird” kids who sought the sanctuary of the woods and wetlands, the role of Black neighborhoods and their proximity to nature, and how racism and poverty require new approaches to build lasting and meaningful relationships with the outdoors.

Trust for Public Land
Connecting everyone to the outdoors™
tpl.org  | Instagram | Facebook   
...

In this, our first episode, host Ronda Lee Chapman talks with Tykee James, government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society. The two discuss the joys of birding and how Tykee came to cofound Black Birders Week. They also explore the topics of activism and coalition-building in the “Freedom Birders” movement, the sticky roots of conservation, how many birds Ronda really knows (more than she thinks), and their experiences navigating the outdoors as people of color.

Trust for Public Land
Connecting everyone to the outdoors™
tpl.org  | Instagram | Facebook   
...

This podcast is designed to be a rich forum for conversation on how we move forward—towards a more inclusive and representative outdoor community—together. How are we going to rethink conservation? How do we encourage investments and engagement in nature for our communities? My hope is that this podcast can also be a vehicle to raise community voices—to offer a platform to talk about the valuable work that these individuals and communities are doing. I want to talk about the triumphs. I want to talk about challenges and celebrations. And I want to talk about the ways that TPL shows up in communities, how we show up in solidarity, in support, and learn where and what we might do better.

– Ronda Lee Chapman

Trust for Public Land
Connecting everyone to the outdoors™
tpl.org  | Instagram | Facebook   
...