Written by Jessica Walker, London Blue Chain Trainee
The communities of African and Afro-Caribbean heritage across the United Kingdom share not only a painful history of colonialism, racism and exploitation, but also a joyful one of connection, growth, celebration and integration of cultures. All aspects of black history should be remembered, respected, and used to inform actions that push the way forward in unity and honour our communities.
During the Windrush generation from 1948, citizens of the Commonwealth in the Caribbean and African nations came to live in the UK and contribute significantly to recovery efforts to build back after the ravages of World War II. They worked in all fields, but predominantly in construction, healthcare, transportation and education. Unfortunately, this generation and their progeny often experienced ill-treatment due to their race and ethnicity, from physical and verbal assaults to being refused housing or access to certain spaces. Patients would refuse care from black nurses, and passengers refused to be transported by black drivers. Education for black youth was also affected; young people were often labelled as subnormal, which limited the opportunities they had within wider society. As time went on, racial justice was fought for to protect against abuse due to heritage, skin colour, and hair type. Today, while we pursue equality and equity in many other spaces, it is important to reflect on this determination and persistence towards peace and use it as a light to guide us forward.
The pursuit of justice and peace in all forms is recounted in the stories we tell throughout our families, my own included. My great grandmother came to the UK in the 1950’s as a seamstress and created a beautiful community with her church family, fighting for justice through her enthusiastic faith. My grandmother was a nurse and educator, who strongly believed in the power of community engagement. My father fought for justice when marching the streets of London to protest the arrest of Nelson Mandela and Apartheid and honours his community through his legal work, volunteering and dedication to his family. Now, through the London Blue Chain project at Froglife, I aim to build bridges for environmental justice for black and brown communities. This pursuit of justice and peace, and the re-telling of it through stories is one way we can honour our communities and heritage. It is a route to achieving meaningful action today.
Environmental justice is one of the pressing causes we pursue today. It is needed more than ever, particularly because environmental scientists recognize the disproportionate effects of climate change on black and brown communities, such as those of the Commonwealth nations from which many of our Windrush generation have come. Despite the history of fantastic achievements in academia, medicine, politics, sport and the arts, very few black UK professionals and academics work in environmental science, conservation and agriculture. As a black Jamaican beginning a career in the UK in environmental science, I not only want to acknowledge the difficulties faced in the past but also use it to drive our future and to encourage others to join the field through volunteering, work and academia.
Being black in environmental science/conservation can sometimes be a challenge. There is the loneliness of walking or logging into a meeting and knowing you are the only one looking like you. While many of us in the field struggle with eco-anxiety, there is the added but often seemingly irrational fear of whether your mistakes will be more scrutinized, your successes overlooked or more surprising. There is the fear during fieldwork of safety when working on land with tools, or in a neighbourhood where people may feel you do not belong or would make you feel unsafe. There is the lack of people knowing how to interact with someone like you and debating whether to hold your tongue when they touch your hair without asking or making comments to volunteers about ‘working like slaves’. Although these experiences have not happened in my current role at Froglife, they are experiences of colleagues and friends in other organizations and situations.
However, every day the field is getting better, from more inclusive EDI training to resources specifically for Black Environmentalists from the British Ecological Society, and every day it is even more imperative that more environmentalists of every race do their part. In the past, the Honourable Richard Hill was of mixed-race, Jamaican heritage and was the first recorded Jamaican naturalist, listing Jamaican birds and plants. After pursuing Grammar School in the UK, he returned to Jamaica and established a practice as a lawyer, worked in government and later in natural recordings. He is often referred to as “Jamaica’s Great Naturalist”. His knowledge of botany helped to save lives during cholera outbreaks in 1851, and his dedication to racial justice, the abolition of slavery and to education helped advance schools across Jamaica for black students. Today, one ecologist who speaks about the joys and challenges of being black in environmental and conservation spaces is Dr Rae Wynn Grant. In her PBS Nature Podcast ‘Going Wild with Dr Rae Wynn Grant’, she not only highlights her stories but also uplifts the voices of black and indigenous scientists, environmentalists and community members who have been overlooked in the field. Both of these environmentalists are an inspiring example of black excellence in wildlife conservation.
Black Communities need green spaces and useful services, but also the opportunity to create, develop, and inform themselves on the best courses of action for their own wellbeing. We honour our communities by protecting green spaces, which can in turn uplift mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Communities need conversations around equity, diversity and inclusion, but also conversations around the similarities that bind us together. We honour our communities by listening to their concerns and taking daily anti-racist action that speaks out for, and with, those that need it. Froglife has partnered with Earth Tenders, a black-led organization that seeks to protect health and food systems, Coco Collective, an Afro-diaspora-led community garden in Lewisham, to collaborate on meaningful actions for predominantly black communities in London. We have tried to honour those communities when working alongside them, drawing from and learning about decolonial, African historical land practices.
In Froglife’s 24th year and the London Blue Chain’s final year, we want more than ever to lift the black members of our communities and support them in protecting the habitats around them. We aim to encourage more black researchers to study herpetology and to keep black youth safe and respected when engaging with their natural environment. I would encourage everyone to read about or listen to stories of black history. I am proud to be black, to have British and Jamaican heritage, and to be part of an organization that is making a difference by honouring communities and protecting reptiles and amphibians.