image via Intersectional Environementalism
….Continued from original BIPOC post….
This list of BIPOC environmentalist and planters is near and dear to my heart, there are so many who are paving the way fighting for racial injustices, helping our planet’s climate crisis and to live more sustainability. The biggest “aha” moment was discovering one of my newest role models, Leah Thomas and Intersectional Environmentalism, the term for a belief that I’ve had for a few years now that taking care of our climate crisis and racial injustices is interconnected.
Like I mentioned in the original BIPOC post, this list not only consists of black individuals but several others within in the BIPOC community. These individuals are doing some truly amazing work!
1. Leah Thomas // Green Girl Leah // Intersectional Environmentalism
When I first heard about Leah Thomas and her fight for Intersectional Environmentalism she instantly became a role model and someone I greatly admire. When I began living a whole more clean way of living, more aware of the severity of our climate crisis growing my own vegetable and herb garden close to ten years now, I quickly was faced with the disheartening fact that good whole food, the bare minimum of organic produce and sustainable products is not readily available to all, especially the ones that need it the most. The children growing up in low income neighborhoods that have rarely been exposed to it, the parents who can’t afford fresh food, the ones who can’t afford to take care of their healths — all majority black and people of color. It made, and makes me angry, that schools value the cheapness of processed foods over whole foods to feed ever-growing children, that the whole concept of going to a farmer’s market or buying mostly fresh produce and sustainable home products is something only people with money can afford to consume. Then Leah put a name to that inequality I can’t understand, why all can’t have equal access to a whole way of life, in comes “Intersectional Environmentalism.” In technical terms it’s a more inclusive version of environmentalism that advocates for both the protection of people and the planet by indetifiy these very injustices that occur to marginalized communities — directly impacting the Earth. It’s all interconnected, you cannot fix the climate crisis if you can’t also make a sustainable healthy way of living accessible to all people.
2. Mikaela Grace Loach
Greta isn’t the only amazing young woman fighting our climate crisis and environmental issues like a champ, hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland Mikaela Grace Loach has quickly become a valued and crucial leader in the fight for all things about sustainability, ethical-living, refugee rights and intersectional activism. She shares everything from recipes, to ways to we can be a game changer in the fight against our climate crisis and everything in between on how we can change the world. She is such an inspiring young woman!
3. Passion Murray // Detroit Dirt
Passion Murray has a tenacious drive for waste reduction, recycling, and the reuse of materials and has made it her mission with Detroit Dirt, to help change the carbon footprint of Detroit by revitalizing neighborhoods’ local composting and waste collection company that now specializes in providing sustainable options for the metro area of her community. She’s constantly on the search to find solutions to combat everyday waste and eliminating trips to the landfill through composting. It is absolutely amazing what she has able to get started in Detroit, a very much needed metro city for sustainable waste management efforts. We need to get Pashon working with all major cities to solve their waste/recycling methods!!
4. Waste Free Marie
Marie Beecham is another inspiring young woman making her voice her against environmental and racial justice. Her work is focused on collectively working on criminal justice reform, environmental racism and dismantling oppressive systems because as we’ve have learned fighting the climate crisis means also fighting for the right of people, remember it’s about intersectional environmentalism. She offers easy actions we can all take to make change happen!
5. Hilton Carter
Hilton Carter is bringing to life my indoor plant heaven home a dream!! He’s a propagating and plant king, his home is filled to the brim with cuttings and lush green beauties!! And he’s helping others grow their own urban jungles, sharing plant care tips and inspiring with ways to style plants — with his AirBnb Experience classes and lovely propagation vases and displays. If you’re a plant lover like me, or wannabe green thumb, his book Wild at Home is a must have! Now excuse me while I get lost in his pictures again…
6. Plant Kween
If you don’t know Christopher, the Plant Kween, let me introduce you this amazing person bringing light and positivity through their infectious personality and love for plants. Christopher is a “Black queer femme kween” all about the plant life, building a community through plants and teaching others how to fill their lives with these green beauties. You will fall in love!
7. Cherisa // Switch Back Shawty
There are very few people of color well known in the world of the outdoors and hiking, much love a black woman, but Cherisa of Switch Back Shawty is trying to change that! Because yes you can love both hip hop and hiking {the same way you can live in dresses and still love getting dirty in the great outdoors}. She is a woman, a lover of nature and the moutains, with her camera on a journey to diversifying and make our outdoor spaces more inclusive. We all experience and connect to Mother Nature very differently and she wants to show those connections and stories from people of all walks on life.
. Ashley // Woodlark
I’ve been a longtime fan of Ashley and Woodlark where she creates and share so many beautiful and inspiring crafts and projects with a more simple approach that supports a sustainable lifestyle. Together with her son they are creating things to foster play-based learning, natural parenting tips and all that grow the appreciation for nature. It’s a great resource for anyone that wants to parent in a more mindful and simpler way reflective of Nature and its elements. I love the projects she’s creating especially her most recent of raising monarch butterflies and safekeeping several while they emerged from their chrysalis before flying free.
8. Soul Fire Farm
Soul Fire Farm mission is what every single farm, and essentially our entire food system in the US, and the world should be built on, and that is the commitment to end racism and injustice in our food system. On land that historically was stewarded by the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation in northern Wisconsin, they bring together diverse communities together grow, raise and distribute food all while sharing sustainable agriculture skills, spiritual activism, health and environmental justice. I’m in awe and inspired by what Soul Fire Farm is doing, the word needs to get about them and more farms need to follow suit so that our entire food system is also racially and economically just. Intersectional environmentalism people!!
9. Jimmy Chin
Ever since I first heard about Alex Hannold a few year ago and then watched Free Solo the incredible feat turned documentary directed/filmed by Jimmy Chin, I became equally enamored by this National Geographic Photographer and Filmmaker. If you’re an avid follower of all things National Geographic, you know very well the amazing work Jimmy is brining to life, but the physical and mental challenges he has to overcome to create his breathtaking work. His led numerous climbing, skiing and explorative expeditions in some of the harshest environments, and then brining the beauty and rawness of those areas onto film for us to experience and learn more about them. A big part of me wishes I led such a nature adventurous driven life, I live vicariously through Jimmy’s work and travels
10. One Million Acres
If you didn’t know that rainforests are crucial the wellbeing of our planet’s ecosystems and our livelihoods, and that they are being cut down on a daily basis at a very very alarming rate — then I urge you to please read and find out what’s truly going on in our forests and how big corporation, like toilet paper, are to blame. OMAEarth is fighting deforestation with every purchase of their bracelets and donations which go directly to funding initiatives to protect and restore endangered rainforest, while also supporting and giving opportunities to indigenous artisans and their communities.
11. PUR Home
PUR Home is a non-toxic natural home/laundry cleaning brand I heard about a few months ago, because when people care enough about our planet to continue to invest and create sustainable home product brands, I’m all for it!! Having my floors smell like fresh rosemary citrus sounds divine!
And these lists won’t end here, as I come across more BIPOC I will continuously be updating these lists with as many inspiring talents as possible, so stay tuned!!
Don’t forget to check out these other inspiring BIPOC too!
Writers || Poets || Speakers || Publications+Books || NonProfits
Interiors || Home Decor + Design
Artists || Photographers || Creators
Wedding/Event Professionals || Floral Designers
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