International Women's Day e-book: #IWD2023WOCinnature

As part of documenting the seminar series: Decolonialising Green Spaces: Intercultural dialogues about climate conservation, sustainability, engagement and inclusion, we wanted to celebrate the voices of WOC in UK nature spaces, those that are usually side-lined in mainstream nature books and writing. We decided to create a live e-book to be launched on IWD 2023, and this would be kept open throughout the academic year so that contributions could grow as new connections were built. 

The purpose of the book is to centre the narratives and experiences of women of colour whose work aims to bring about participatory social change in natural green and blue spaces, enhance visibility of structurally underrepresented groups, and support the wider discourse around belonging and identity in the perceived culturally homogenous countryside in the UK. We draw on a decolonial theoretical lens to centre minority ethnic narratives and lived experiences. In adopting this approach, we pay deep attention to minority ethnic perceptions around how access, inclusion, sense of belonging, and the ways in which a genuinely embedded approach to diverse representation can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing in its broadest sense. Our ambition is to develop an expert network and knowledge exchange of key people across disciplines, ages and cultural backgrounds, to create opportunities for intercultural dialogues and engagement with policy makers.

You can also join a related seminar series: Decolonialising Green Spaces: Intercultural dialogues about climate conservation, sustainability, engagement and inclusion. This seminar series is set within the broad context of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and dialogues around access to green spaces for systematically underrepresented communities.

The series aims to connect community and conservation experts from minority ethnic organisations, individual activists from underrepresented groups, and academics who operate in the areas of interculturality, social justice and decoloniality. The series will represent an opportunity to encourage knowledge exchange and conversations around notions of belonging, inclusivity and diverse forms of engagement with common natural resources. The seminar will be launched on International Women's Day 2023 with a free downloadable e-book, then followed on by two on-line seminar days on: 30.03.23 & 04.05.23. 

Brunel Seminar Series: Decolonialising Green Spaces: Intercultural dialogues about climate conservation, sustainability, engagement and inclusion.

Led by Dr Geeta Ludhra and Dr Giuliana Ferri.
Supported by Michelle Lee (Doctoral Researcher) and Dr Eliza Kania (Journal Manager and Research Impact Officer).