Environmental Justice

#BlackLivesMatter, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Justice, Interview, PBS, Podcast / 04.07.2022

When the folks at the Public Broadcasting Service went looking for a charismatic personality to host their latest documentary film series on the natural world, they reached out to a man with just the right skills to bring the outdoors into every home in America. Baratunde: My name is Baratunde Thurston. I am a multimedia storyteller operating at the intersection of race, technology, democracy and climate. Because I love this planet. The wild. There's nothing quite like the feeling of stepping outside. And breaking free from the modern world. I'm in...

#BlackLivesMatter, Banff, Black Lives Matter, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Film preview, Film Review, Ice Age Trail, Madison, Nelson Institute, Wisconsin / 10.12.2021

As Midwesterners huddled safely in their homes to avoid the frigid chill of a Wisconsin winter and the devastating trauma of a world-wide pandemic, Emily Ford set out on a long walk with a borrowed sled dog named Diggins. Well acquainted with the hazardous weather of the upper Midwest, this professional gardener from Duluth, Minnesota aimed to traverse the length of the Ice Age National Scenic Hiking Trail (IAT), a distance of more than 1,200 miles through some of the coldest temperatures in recorded history. The new film,...

Books, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Justice / 08.01.2021

As we enter into the new year, we welcome the opportunity for personal growth and development. Certainly, there is no better path toward self-improvement than through the pages of a good book. In the hopes of leading a national dialog in particular on the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion in outdoor recreation, environmental conservation and social justice we are proud to announce the creation of an online book club called The Joy Trip Reading Project. It goes without saying that 2020 was a tumultuous year. The global Covid-19...

Commentary, Covid-19, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Essays, Outdoors For All, Private Land, Public Land, Wisconsin / 18.05.2020

Over the weekend I packed up the Jetta Wagon for a short Joy Trip. After almost two months of working from home during the Covid-19 lockdown I was eager for a long car ride to go someplace pretty. A good friend had recently purchased a piece of property on a lake with a series of hiking trails about an hour east of Madison. Loaded with my boots, hip wadders, a backpack and a fly rod I set out on the open road under a clear blue sky through...

Breaking News, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Healthy Living, Madison, Running, Uncategorized, Urban Parks / 08.05.2020

On a beautiful spring morning in Madison, Wisconsin a group of citizens gathered in protest. Outraged by the horrific murder of Ahmaud Arbery of Brunswick, Georgia on February 23rd of this year, they came together in solidarity to demand justice. Though they carried no signs nor shouted slogans, their message was clear. Along the pedestrian path on the shores of Lake Wingra they came to exercise a basic human right, to do the very thing for which Arbery was apparently killed: Jogging while Black. Organized by Aaron Perry,...

Commentary, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Essays, Nelson Institute, Outdoors For All, ReThinkOutside, The Adventure Gap / 24.04.2020

Through the  hive-mind of social media I was reminded this morning on LinkedIn that yesterday was my third work anniversary at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Nelson Institute For Environmental Studies. It just so happened at that moment I was deep in thought on a series of 12 sessions I am preparing for my summer class called Outdoors For All. Over the course of four weeks my students and I take a long look back in time at the racial disparities that separate those who spend time in...