Black history in the U.S. has had a long and tenuous relationship with nature. To this day, many Black Americans face real barriers to accessing outdoor spaces and outdoor education. But since the beginning, there have been Black leaders devoting their lives to creating space in the outdoors for everyone. This month, Shaver’s Creek staff are highlighting some of the Black voices that have impacted and inspired the work we do at our nature center. This mosaic of leaders, from historical figures to personal connections, are just a drop in the ocean of Black leaders that are changing the outdoors for the better. We hope you’ll find connection, joy, and resilience in the work they are doing!
George Washington Carver
By Alex S.
Agricultural practices are woven neatly into the fabric of everyday life here in central Pennsylvania, and part of the work of Shaver’s Creek involves building partnerships with wildlife and local ecology to support healthy and sustainable farming. As such, I thought it might be fitting to briefly write about a man whose life was dedicated to helping people understand how to farm better.
George Washington Carver is widely remembered for something he did not actually do — inventing peanut butter. It is true that Carver worked with the plant, and it’s true he did produce a pamphlet on over 100 uses of the legume, but as a soil scientist, his work was more specifically and more importantly focused on soil health. Following the Civil War, many of the freed slaves and sharecroppers found themselves farming land with soil so damaged by monoculture cotton farming practices that they couldn’t produce enough to food to support themselves. A lifelong botanist, Carver turned his efforts toward learning and then teaching farming practices that would help rejuvenate the land and topsoil and produce crops of higher quality and quantity. He was a pioneer of practices such as crop rotation, farmland composting and organic fertilizer production, and woodland preservation as a method of supporting topsoil health. His approach was to take a holistic view of farming with sustainable practices that are largely still in use today.
There are many reasons to remember Carver; his story held many moments significant to American History. He spent half a century teaching agriculture and corresponded with thousands of Americans, giving free help and advice on improving their farms and lots in life. He broke through racial barriers decades before the Civil Rights movement began. For such a life, I think his legacy is deserving of more than just being the peanut guy.
Buried beside his lifelong friend, Booker T. Washington, at Tuskeegee University where he taught, Carver’s epitaph reads: “He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.”
To learn more about George Washington Carver, Alex recommends:
- George Washington Carver, The Black History Monthiest Of Them All from NPR’s CodeSwitch
- George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Life on PBS
- The George Washington Carver page on the National Park Service site
Jasmine Fields
By Autumn G.
I have had the honor of befriending and working with Jasmine Fields, who is the Sustainability Officer for the Borough of State College. Jasmine not only has six years of experience in local government, but she also has extensive knowledge of environmental science, starting with her bachelor’s degree from Penn State in earth sciences and including certifications in water resource management from Colorado State University. Now, she is pursuing a master’s from the University of Southern California in sustainability management.
Jas is an absolute force of nature in the woods, and spends her free time mountain biking, bird watching, and hiking. Her passion for sustainability shines in all aspects of her personal and professional life. She understands the importance of collective action in relationship to sustainability and is facilitating a Sustainability Ambassador program in the Borough that is on its second season. She has also been advocating for a plastic-bags ban in State College for about 6 years. Time with Jas makes me a better person because she is so driven in her mission.
To learn more about Jas and her work, Autumn recommends:
- Looking into the Centre Region Community Stewardship Network
- Reading more about sustainability in the Borough of State College
- Connecting with Jas on LinkedIn
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
By Dom F.
The climate crisis is not something that usually conjures up images of hope for many people. It wasn’t for me until I came across the work of Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, originally a marine biologist and now a policy expert, writer, teacher, and so much more. There are a lot of “climate” phrases in the world right now — climate change, climate crisis, climate disasters, etc. — but the phrase that Dr. Johnson’s work is centered around is one that has been missing from the conversation for far too long: climate solutions.
While still being realistic about the state of our global crisis, Dr. Johnson casts light on the massive amounts of work already being done globally to reverse course on climate change, and she empowers each of us to find our own unique role in the movement. She has also taught me to see the ways that the climate crisis intersects with things like gender and race, and she reminds us that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people. If you are looking for more joy, resilience, and community in the age of the climate crisis, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is someone you should know.
To dive deeper into Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s work, Dom recommends:
- All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson
- Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett
- What If We Get It Right? by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
David Saunders
By Matt M.
David Saunders is the director of the Office of Health Equity in the PA Department of Health. Their mission is to “provide leadership to promote public awareness of health disparities, advocate for programs to eliminate health disparities, and collaborate with stakeholders to achieve measurable and sustainable improvement in health status of underrepresented populations.”
David gave a presentation in 2024 regarding PA environmental justice and education. There are a lot of overlaps between the environment and human health, and some areas can use more attention and support. During his presentation, he talked about his experiences as a kid in the outdoors, and with others, which inspired him to value the environment. This led him to eventually enjoy a career in health and the environment, as well as to continue appreciating and recreating in the outdoors in his personal life and passing that onto his children.
To learn more about David and his work, Matt recommends:
- Reading more about the Office of Health Equity
- Connecting with David on LinkedIn
Dexter Patterson
By Andy H.
The WiscoBirder, also known as Dexter Patterson, is a wholesome Wisconsin man who brings passion and excitement with every post, podcast, and early morning birding program he runs. Through the powers of social media, he is able to reach a larger audience to encourage ethical birding, foster a love of the outdoors, and celebrate people of color in the outdoors, uplifting other BIPOC voices.
Dexter Patterson inspires me as an outdoor educator by finding and sharing such joy in these feathery little creatures. He is always considerate of his audience and works with his local community and with professionals to provide updated resources for lifelong learning. Not only does he guarantee welcoming environments for all people, including people of color, but he also provides insight behind the scenes to show how we can work within our own communities to implement daily efforts of inclusion. His work urges me to find little joys in life, connect with others, and continue building space for everyone to love and explore freely in nature.
To get to know Dexter, Andy recommends:
- This Instagram reel about finding an Indigo Bunting
- And this one about finding a Snowy Owl
- And you can follow Dexter on Instagram!
Rue Mapp
By Ellen W.
At an American Camp Association conference years ago, I was settling in for the keynote address from an outdoor leader named Rue Mapp, whose camping experience came from being a Girl Scout. I thought, that’s a cool name for someone in the outdoor field because it’s a flower! I very quickly learned just how cool the person who carries the name is.
Rue Mapp is the founder of Outdoor Afro, an organization with the unofficial tag line, “Where Black people and nature meet.” Rue began her presentation by sharing a video with the actor Blair Underwood and said to us before it started, “White people, it’s okay to laugh!” The video featured two bumbling White park rangers trying to catch up to a Black hiker, Underwood, as he explored a trail. He passes other park users along the way, who are all White, who react to his presence with surprise. The rangers, panting and out of breath, finally catch up to the (more fit) hiker at the summit of the trail. He asks something like, “Is there a problem?” and the rangers admit they were following him because they had never seen a Black person in a National Park. His response? Yes, Black people like nature too! I hope I was never that bumbling, but it certainly challenged my assumptions about who engages in outdoor recreation.
Rue Mapp founded Outdoor Afro in 2009 to provide leadership, resources, and inspiration for people of color to connect with and find joy in the natural world. When I recruit Penn State students for our programs, I try to convey that the outdoors is for everyone, and Outdoor School specifically is a safe way to reconnect with the natural world. Many students (of all walks of life) reflect afterwards that they weren’t expecting to enjoy being outside and disconnected from technology for a few days and that they hope to make space to get outside more. And that’s really what we want — for people to feel safe and welcome in outdoor spaces.
I have since learned that rue is a common name for the family of flowering plants, Rutaceae, which includes thousands of plants from fruit trees to lovely woodland flowers. It’s still a fitting name for Rue Mapp because her interests and endeavors are as many and varied as the plants.
To learn more about the many ways Rue Mapp is shaping the field of outdoor leadership, Ellen recommends: