Your Healing Nature

EP 10: Kenya & Michelle Jackson-Saulters

Brenda Beza — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0700

Kenya and Michelle are the founders of the Outdoor Journal Tour, a hybrid health organization that combines the healing benefits of the Great Outdoors with introspective journaling and mindful meditation. They are headquartered in Atlanta, GA and the creators of international outdoor wellness phenomenon #wehiketoheal. Most recently, they’ve spearheaded their Mindful Minutes program, a nationwide challenge designed to encourage more mindfulness in our everyday lives.

In this episode, we discuss Kenya and Michelle’s root stories, the lessons they’ve learned as entrepreneurs and outdoor advocates, their definitions of “real healing,” the rewards and challenges of centering mindfulness and JEDI in the outdoors, the Nature Meditations Deck and so much more!

IG: @_yourhealingnature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Music: James & Black, "Everyday (Walking in Sunshine)"

To follow the Outdoor Journal Tour:

Website: www.outdoorjournaltour.com

IG: @outdoorjournaltour

Facebook Group: The Outdoor Journal Tour

Twitter: @tweetODJT

Chronicle Books: Nature Meditations Deck

https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/nature-meditations-deck

You can also purchase via ODJT website:

https://www.outdoorjournaltour.com/nature-meditations-deck/

ShoutOut Atlanta: Meet Kenya Jackson-Saulters

April 27, 2021

https://shoutoutatlanta.com/meet-kenya-jackson-saulters-writer-spiritual-coach-outdoor-enthusiast/

Meggan Waterson: Divine Feminine Oracle Deck

https://www.megganwatterson.com/the-divine-feminine-oracle

Episode 9: John Tateishi

Brenda Beza — Sun, 06 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0700

John Tateishi is the former National Executive Director of the Japanese American Citizens League and author of Redress: The Inside Story of the Successful Campaign for Japanese American Reparations.

At two and a half years old, John was among the 120,000 Japanese Americans who, at the outbreak of WWII, were forced from their homes in the western states and imprisoned in America’s concentration camps. With his family, he was sent to the so-called Manzanar Relocation Center in the Eastern Sierras, one of ten American concentration camps in which Japanese Americans spent the war as civilian prisoners of their own government without ever having been charged with any crimes.

In this episode, we discuss John’s root story, spending his formative childhood years as a prisoner at Manzanar, how traditional Japanese cultural values impacted the healing of the Japanese American community, his role in leading the fight for Japanese American reparations and so much more.

IG: @_yourhealingnature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Show Notes

You can learn more about John Tateishi here:

https://www.johntateishi.com/

You can purchase Redress here through Heyday Books:

https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/redress-the-inside-story-of-the-successful-campaign-for-japanese-american-reparations/

Manzanar National Historic Site:

https://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm

About the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians

(National Archives)

https://www.archives.gov/research/japanese-americans/hearings

President Reagan’s Apology: Signing of HR 442

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcaQRhcBXKY

Letter of Apology from President George W. Bush

https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/japanese_internment/bush.cfm

Milagros Phillips, Cracking the Healer’s Code

https://www.milagrosphillips.com/healerscode

Episode 8: Sonya & Necota Staples

Brenda Beza — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0700

Necota and Sonya Staples are the founders of Staples InTents and Black People Offroading, an Atlanta-based camping, adventure travel, and lifestyle bloggers. Their mission is to increase diversity in the outdoor adventure travel community by redefining the typical imagery associated with the outdoor adventurer.

As college sweethearts, Sonya and Necota have always had a passion for travel and adventure, but after several years, found themselves in a challenging place in their marriage and discovered camping as a way to say yes to each other and yes to the world. The discovery of camping led them to overlanding, where their passion for outdoor adventure rejuvenated their love for each other and gave them a common purpose while allowing them to play to their individual strengths and grow closer together.

In this episode, they share their collective root story, how Mother Nature helped them save their marriage, their transition from corporate life to entrepreneurs and outdoor advocates, why representation matters, and so much more!

IG: @_yourhealingnature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Music By: James & Black, "Everyday (Walking in Sunshine)"

To contact Sonya and Necota:

IG: @staplesintents

IG: @blackpeopleoffroading

Twitter: @staplesintents

Website: https://staplesintents.com/

YouTube: Staples InTents

The New York Times Articles

“2020 is the Summer of the Road Trip, Unless You’re Black”

By Tariro Mzezewa, June 10, 2020

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/travel/road-trip-black.html

"Road Tripping While Black: Readers Respond"

By Tariro Mzezewa and Tacey Rychter, June 25, 2020

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/travel/road-tripping-while-black-readers-respond.html

Staples InTents YouTube Video

“Ultimate Self-Care: Solo Camping”

By Necota Staples, February 28, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH2p8ByBJo4

Workshop: Camping & Overlanding While Black

November 21, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Fs4ZYQc0Q

Overlanding: A Quick Rundown of What It Is, and Why it’s Cool.

November 20, 2020

https://www.motortrend.com/news/what-is-overlanding/

Episode 7: Kam Redlawsk

Brenda Beza — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0700

Kam Redlawsk is a disabled industrial designer, artist, advocate, traveler, writer and speaker. She’s also a Korean American adoptee. She has been an advocate for the rare disease and disability community for 14 years. In this effort, she uses art, writing, travels and tools that connect us as humans. She has lived with GNE Myopathy, a rare muscle-wasting disease, for over 20 years. Kam loves taking road trips, observing Nature, scavenging for art destinations and concocting exploration plans.

IG: @_yourhealingnature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Kam Redlawsk's Contact Information

IG: @kamredlawsk

IG: @chairdevils

Twitter: @kamredlawsk

Website: https://www.kamredlawsk.com/

Kam Redlawsk: Limitless Sides to Outside

https://www.rei.com/blog/travel/kam-redlawsk-limitless-sides-to-outside

Parks Project Documentary Short: Kam Redlawsk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SiHMRd51HY

Creating Art Through Adversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLybWNd9i8w

Rare Diseases

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/gne-myopathy/

Despite Calls to Improve, Air Travel is Still a Nightmare for Many with Disabilities

NPR, Nov. 9, 2021

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1049814332

Air Carrier Access Act

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/passengers-disabilities

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

https://dredf.org/news/publications/disability-rights-law-and-policy/where-prejudice-disability-and-disabilism-meet/

Episode 6: Richard D. Garcia

Brenda Beza — Sun, 26 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Richard D. Garcia is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Alma Backyard Farms. Richard studied at St. John’s Seminary College and has extensive experience in pastoral ministry inside juvenile halls and prisons. As a pastoral minister, youth advocate, and urban farmer, Richard knows how growing food is a transformative way of bringing people together. Since completing an M.A.in Pastoral Theology at Loyola Marymount University, Richard incorporates principles of restorative justice into urban farming.

In this episode, Richard shares his root story, his family connection to the outdoors, fulfilling his calling via urban agriculture, how ALMA Backyard Farms is addressing trauma and bringing community healing, and so much more!

IG: @_yourhealingnature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Music by Black & James, "Everyday (Walking in Sunshine)."

Website: https://jamesandblack.org/ IG: james.and.black

To learn about Alma Backyard Farms . . .

IG: @almabackyardfarms

Website: https://www.almabackyardfarms.com/

Books

Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Dawn B. Mabalon, Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong

Other sources . . .

Homeboy Industries

Website: www.homeboyindustries.org

http://homeboyindustries.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/media_kit-Bio-Father-Greg-FINAL-7-2-12.pdf

Rethink Outside: Blue Sky Funders Forum

https://rethinkoutside.org/

California EnviroScreen

https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-30

City and Community Health Profile: Compton

Published by the LA Public Health Department, June 2018

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ohae/docs/cchp/pdf/2018/Compton.pdf

How A Predatory Real Estate Practice Changed The Face of Compton

By Ailsa Chang, Jonaki Mehata, Christopher Intagliati, NPR, May 5, 2021

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/05/993993572/how-a-predatory-real-estate-practice-changed-the-face-of-compton

Articles/Blogs

Potli Blog: Alma Backyard Farms on Reclaiming Lives, Repurposing Land, and Reimagining Community, May 18, 2021

https://www.potlishop.com/blogs/the-drip/alma-spotlight

Los Angeles County’s Forgotten Farming History (PBS)

February 7, 2019

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/la-foodways/los-angeles-county-was-once-the-top-agricultural-county-in-the-nation

Food Justice

https://foodprint.org/issues/food-justice/

Episode 5: Shelma Jun

Brenda Beza — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Shelma Jun is a filmmaker, rock climber, outdoor advocate, and founder of Flash Foxy and the Flash Foxy Climbing Festival. In 2017, Shelma was named one of 40 women who’ve made the biggest impact in the outdoor world by Outside Magazine. In this episode, Shelma shares her root stories, navigating her Korean American identity in the outdoors, the barriers that exist for women and the gender queer community in rock climbing, Flash Foxy’s ever-evolving mission and vision, and so much more!

IG: @_yourhealingnature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Music by: James & Black, "Everyday (Walking in Sunshine)"

Photograph of Shelma Jun taken by Francois Lebeau.

To connect with Shelma . . .

IG: Shelmatic

IG: heyflashfoxy

Facebook: Flash Foxy

Website: https://www.flashfoxy.com/

Documentaries

Within Reach (2017)

https://youtu.be/-NsBqB21RPo

The Moment: Shelma Jun (2018)

https://youtu.be/pYHPRUqtTTs

Garmin: Women of Adventure (2018)

https://youtu.be/EpudpgnerZ4

Do Better Together (2019)

https://youtu.be/0TDhBWywpf0

Duality (2019)

Duality: Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ngyRDE6Z0

Finding Space: Shelma Jun (2021)

https://youtu.be/XKdWxCXwxRw

Articles & Blogs by Shelma Jun

"How Gender Affects Your Experience at the Climbing Gym," Sept. 13, 2016

https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/opinion/how-gender-affects-your-experience-climbing-gym/

"Accept & Adapt: Women in Climbing," September 13, 2016

https://www.climbing.com/people/women-in-climbing-accept-and-adapt/

Duality: Blogs

https://blog.arcteryx.com/%EC%9D%B4%EC%9B%90%EC%84%B1-duality/

"Are you a climber?" Blog

https://blog.arcteryx.com/are-you-a-climber/

Other Recommendations

Books on Intersectional Feminism

Here’s a starting point for your research:

https://iwda.org.au/10-new-old-books-for-intersectional-feminist-readers/

Camping in Korea

Asia Society: The Geography of the Koreas

https://asiasociety.org/education/geography-koreas

A Guide to Camping while Biking in Korea

https://www.koreabybike.com/tips/sleep/camping/

Camping in Korea: Expat Guide Korea

https://www.expatguidekorea.com/article/all-you-need-to-know-about-camping-in-korea.html

Episode 4: Parker McMullen Bushman

Brenda Beza — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Parker McMullen Bushman is Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Inclusive Journeys, Founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies, and Creator of KWEEN Werk. Parker is a dynamic speaker and facilitator that engages organizations in new thinking around what it means to be a diversity change-agent and create dynamic organizational change. Parker’s background in the non-profit leadership, conservation, environmental education and outdoor recreation fields spans over two decades. In this episode, Parker shares her root story, the process of reclaiming the outdoors via the legacy of her ancestors, her passion for changing outdoor narratives, the innovative work she’s doing via Inclusive Journeys and so much more!

To support and learn more about Parker:

IG: @kweenwerk

Twitter: @kweenwerk

TikTok: @kweenwerk

Facebook: Kween werK

Website: https://www.kweenwerk.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kweenwerk

Venmo: @kweenwerk

Cashapp: @kweenwerk

Paypal: paypal.me/kweenwerk

Merch: https://kween-werk.creator-spring.com/?

Ecoinclusive

To contact Parker for diversity training at your non-profit, cultural or environmental institutions, please go here:

Website: www.ecoinclusive.org

Twitter: @ecoinclusive

Facebook: Ecoinclusive

Inclusive Journeys

To engage in Beta testing: https://www.inclusivejourneys.com/

IG: @inclusiveguide

Twitter: @inclusiveguide

Facebook: Inclusive Journeys

Parker’s Website: http://www.cparkermcmullenbushman.com/

Gullah Geechee Corridor

https://gullahgeecheecorridor.org/thegullahgeechee/

https://guides.loc.gov/gullah-geechee-history

The Green Book

Library of Congress–View the entire book digitally (page-by-page):

https://www.loc.gov/item/2016298176/

Episode 3: Amanda "Zuul" Jameson

Brenda Beza — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Amanda is an outdoor educator, travel writer, outdoor advocate, and thru-hiker. She has thru-hiked the Colorado Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and half of the Grand Enchantment Trail. Amanda has also traveled the United States as a speaker and presenter at various outdoor festivals as a Subaru Leave No Trace Master Trainer. In this episode, we discuss Amanda’s definition of thru-hiking, her root story, healing via thru-hiking, her contentious relationship to change, the creation of Brown Girl on the National Scenic Trail and so much more!

Show notes

Follow Amanda at:

IG: @browngirlonthenst

Blog: Brown Girl on the NST

Amanda’s Writings for Backpack Magazine

Backpacker author page and a piece about Amanda

Modern Hiker Interview

https://modernhiker.com/trailblazers-amanda-jameson/

Other Recommendations from Amanda . . .

Decolonizing Travel

Bani Amor (They/Them) on decolonizing travel culture. Follow them on

IG: baniamor

Books

Charlene Caruthers, Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements

James Baldwin, The First Next Time

Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro

Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower

Octavia Butler, Kindred

Saudade: The Portuguese word for the sweet melacholy of a moment that will never be again.

Episode 2: José González

Brenda Beza — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0700

José González is the founder and director emeritus of Latino Outdoors, a non-profit that connects Latinx communities and engages cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative. He navigates through a self-created identity of a "Green Chicano" as he weaves the roles of educator, artist, conservationist, environmentalist, and Chicano.

José’s commentary on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the outdoors has been featured by High Country News, Outside Magazine, Earth Island Journal, and Latino USA, among other media outlets. During the Obama Administration, he engaged in collaborations with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of Interior, and the National Parks Service.

In this episode, we discuss his root story, the power of storytelling, his outdoor advocacy work, healing through the language of ecology, finding ancestral guidance and so much more. We invite you to join us around the digital campfire!

To follow José González:

IG: @josebilingue

Twitter: @josebilingue

Website: http://www.josegagonzalez.com/

Latino Outdoors

IG: @latinooutdoors

Facebook: Latino Outdoors

Twitter: @LatinoOutdoors

YouTube: Latino Outdoors

LinkedIn: Latino Outdoors

Website: www.latinooutdoors.org

Articles

Laura Hilgers, “Nature’s Trailblazer” in the Nobhill Gazette

https://nobhillgazette.com/natures-trailblazer/

José González, “Hiking in Huaraches, and Finding Home in Nature” in Bay Nature

https://baynature.org/2018/10/04/hiking-in-huaraches-and-finding-home-in-nature/

Bracero Program Archive--UCLA

Learn more about the Bracero Program (1942-1962) that gave José's grandfather the opportunity to work in the United States.

https://www.labor.ucla.edu/what-we-do/research-tools/the-bracero-program/

Book

Ruiz, Don Miguel. 2001. The Four Agreements. San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing.

Episode 1: Monserrat Alvarez Matehuala

Brenda Beza — Sun, 21 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Monserrat is an outdoor educator, community organizer, climber, poet and danzante. In 2016, she was a part of the national founding team of Brown Girls Climb, LLC, a women of color-led business focused on centering the leadership of women of color climbers in the outdoors. Monserrat is a sponsored athlete with Outdoor Research and was recently awarded the 2021 Emerging Leader Award by Outdoor Retailer. Monserrat’s work is focused on connecting to land, ancestry, and BIPOC stories of resilience in the outdoors and beyond. In this episode, she shares her root story, healing via rock climbing, her epic summit of Iztaccíhuatl, and all things familia y comunidad. Join us around this digital campfire!

Find us on IG @_YourHealingNature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Photo of Monserrat Alvarez Matehuala courtesy of Janelle Paciencia @janelletakesphotos

To connect to Monserrat Alvarez Matehuala:

IG @outdoorchingona

IG @browngirlsclimb

FB Brown Girls Climb

To learn more about Armadillos:

IG @armadillos_niunmigrantemenos

Website: https://www.niunmigrantemenos.org/

Venmo: armadillos-oficial

Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/we-need-help-funding-our-search-amp-rescues

The North Face: Walls are for Climbing

Monserrat Alvarez Matehuala & the Call of the Wall

https://youtu.be/qAH8tZ7sWek

Outdoor Research: Escaladora (Short Film)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBGyplC6Ujs

The Legend of Popocatepetl & Iztaccíhuatl: A Love Story

https://www.inside-mexico.com/the-legend-of-popocatepetl-iztaccihuatl/

Books

Pam Muñoz Ryan, Esperanza Rising

Kimberlee Crenshaw et al., Critical Race Theory: The Critical Writings that Formed the Movement

Episode 0: Foundations

Brenda Beza — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 07:00:00 -0700

This episode provides you with a brief overview of the social, cultural and political underpinnings that inspired the focus of this podcast. My intention in this episode is to provide you with a map to the auditory journey you’re about to embark on in Season One. This episode will address questions such as, Why this podcast? What are root stories? How is trauma defined in this podcast? What is Your Healing Nature? I go solo in this episode. However, starting next week, you’ll hear from some of the most amazing BIPOC outdoor advocates, outdoor educators, conservationists, founders of for- and non-profits, urban farmers, creatives and so much more! We invite you to join us around this digital campfire every Sunday!

IG: @_YourHealingNature

Email: info@yourhealingnature.com

Books

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2015. Braiding Sweetgrass. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions.

Estés, Clarissa Pinkola. 1992. Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. New York: Ballantine Books.

Indigenous Women Hike

IG: @indigenouswomenhike

IG: @jolievarela

IG: @Tazbah

Tazbah Chavez, “Hiking the Nüümü Poyo: An Act of Love by Indigenous Women” in http://www.project562.com/blog/hiking-the-nueuemue-poyo-an-act-of-love-by-indigenous-women/

American Indian Religious Freedom Act: https://coast.noaa.gov/data/Documents/OceanLawSearch/Summary%20of%20Law%20-%20American%20Indian%20Religious%20Freedom%20Act.pdf

GirlTrek

IG: @girltrek

Website: https://www.girltrek.org/

https://harriettubmanbyway.org/girltrek-walk-100-miles-along-tubman-byway/

https://ideas.ted.com/what-we-learned-from-walking-in-the-footsteps-of-harriet-tubman/

https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “The Status of Women in the United States,”

https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Status-of-Black-Women-6.26.17.pdf

Armadillos

IG: @armadillos_niunmigrantemenos

Website: https://www.niunmigrantemenos.org/

https://www.borderangels.org/blog/border-angels-endorses-and-contributes-armadillos-busqueda-y-rescate

https://www.niunmigrantemenos.org/sobre-nosotros-about-us

Alma Backyard Farms

IG: @almabackyardfarms

Website: https://www.almabackyardfarms.com/

Disabled Hikers

IG: @disabledhikers

IG: @syrennagakyrie

Website: https://disabledhikers.com/

https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/love-humor/disabled-hikers-syren-nagakyrie/

James & Black: Music

IG:@james.and.black

Website: https://jamesandblack.org/

Your Healing Nature

Brenda Beza — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 12:00:00 -0700

You can follow us on IG: @_YourHealingNature

Podcast Artwork By: Karen Ceballos @ka_wren_ceballos

Music: “Everyday (Walking in Sunshine)” is used with permission by James & Black. Please visit www.jamesandblack.org and on IG @james.and.black to check out their amazing body of work!