I just had to get on here real quick and share a film my friend Olwen Wilson in Canada shared with me. Olwen’s been eagerly following our work in this small corner of the U.K. She’s been cheering us on across the way, as she also enjoys connecting with nature as a woman of colour.
Olwen shared this film presenting Outdoor Afro’s York City leader Katina Grays and her relationship with the outdoors. Outdoor Afro are an American national organisation developing leadership and community in nature within the African-America community.
This short film explores how Katina, with Outdoor Afro, are working to diversify the outdoors.
The film opens with Katina’s saying, ” The outdoors belong to everybody. The trees don’t care what colour you are.”
The barriers to getting outside for people of the global majority or people of colour cited in this film, such as access, transportation, feeling uncomfortable, and fear, are the same barriers we’ve been exploring, breaking down and going around, under, over and through with our project, Wayfinding.
We’re reclaiming space in the outdoors, one outing adventure at a time. And we hope to continue for years to come, for the next generation.
Thank for sharing Olwen, this film is so inspiring.