Welcome to Walkie Talkies, a NEW Outside Voices bi-monthly roundtable conversation with co-hosts Sarah Shimazaki, Aly Ferguson, and Neecole Bostick! In addition to our regular content, you'll be hearing more from our co-hosts as we chat about our own experiences in the outdoors, outdoor equity, and reflect on the growth of the Outside Voices community. This episode is all about Parks! Listen in as we talk about how parks can shape our relationships to the outdoors, the Coastal Act, and share...

This week we feature an episode of a podcast we love: The Trail Ahead Podcast, hosted by Faith E. Briggs and Addie Thompson. They bring on outdoor industry leaders from all backgrounds to have interracial dialogue aimed at having tough conversations at the intersection of race, environment, history, culture, and the outdoors. Their ultimate goal? To diversity the outdoor industry and welcome everyone into outdoors spaces..  This episode features Adam Merry, a track and trail runner who has...

Welcome to Walkie Talkies, a NEW Outside Voices bi-monthly roundtable conversation with co-hosts Sarah Shimazaki, Aly Ferguson, and Neecole Bostick! In addition to our regular content, you'll be hearing more from our co-hosts as we chat about our own experiences in the outdoors, outdoor equity, and reflect on the growth of the Outside Voices community. Grab your headphones and join us around the campfire for a Walkie Talkie! Co-hosted by Sarah Shimazaki, Aly Ferguson, and Neecole Bostick ...

As the daughter of Indigenous water rights advocates, Autumn Harry (@numu_wanderer) was able to establish a connection to water and fishing at a very young age. Since then, she’s used her skills and knowledge to educate others on the history of Kooyooe Pa’a, or Pyramid Lake, as the first Numu Woman Flyfishing Guide in the U.S (@kooyooepaa_guides). She’s also led advocacy work and mutual aid efforts for food and land sovereignty to help her community, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, thrive. ...

A descendant of Filipino plantation workers who immigrated to Hawai’i in the early 1900s, Brianne Lauro (@brianne_lauro) is the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of local fishers and hunters. In this second episode of “Untangling,” Brianne opens up for the first time about imposter syndrome and credits all she’s learned as a fisher to her Uncle Lance. While Brianne herself is relatively new to fishing, she’s learned that it’s become a way to connect with her family history,...

For the Gullah/Geechee people, fishing is culture. Everything comes back to "making a circle", shares Queen Quet, chieftess and head-of-state of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, from throwing a circular cast net out into the ocean, to bringing balance and harmony back to the natural environment, and passing down cultural traditions to the next generation. Tune in for a conversation between Host and Producer Sarah Shimazaki and Queen Quet! The Gullah/Geechee Nation encompasses over 100 sea islands...

Full episode transcript available in our attempt to make this an accessible experience for all. In this episode hosted and co-produced by Neecole Bostick, we spoke with Cristina Eisenberg — the Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and the Director of College Tribal Initiatives at the Oregon State University School of Forestry. As a professor of ecology and traditional ecological knowledge, Cristina brings a TEK lens to western science to enhance conservation efforts and create more...

In this episode hosted and co-produced by Neecole Bostick, we spoke with Cristina Eisenberg — the Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and the Director of College Tribal Initiatives at the Oregon State University School of Forestry. As a professor of ecology and traditional ecological knowledge, Cristina brings a TEK lens to western science to enhance conservation efforts and create more sustainable ecosystems. Cristina tells her serendipitous journey to this way of knowing and...

In this episode hosted and co-produced by Aly Ferguson, we spoke with Xavier Boatright — an environmental justice organizer and researcher who currently holds the position of Strategic Partnerships Director at Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC), where he works to strengthen the conservation and environmental movement in his home state of South Carolina. Xavier shares his experience growing up on a farm, getting drafted into and playing for the NFL, spending time organizing for...

Coming off a traumatic year of increased anti-Asian hate and a seemingly never-ending pandemic, The Cosmos' co-founders Cassandra and Karen decided to create "Camp Cosmos." The intention was to facilitate safe spaces where Asian women could experience joy, community, and healing in nature.  Over the course of a month, Camp Cosmos participants went hiking, kayaking, and finally, camping. This episode highlights excerpts from their camping trip to Camp Rockaway at Fort Tilden, or Munsee Lenape...

Host and producer Sarah Shimazaki travels to Orlando, Florida for her first time fishing on an all-women's fishing and glamping trip.  Interviews with: Ashley Nichole Lewis Cindy "Sid" Nguyen Jenny Anderson Stephanie Vatalaro, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation This episode of Outside Voices is presented by Take Me Fishing, a trademark of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. 

Since immigrating to the US at 17, Noami's been steadily reclaiming her connection to nature and finding a sense of belonging, especially through Diversify Vanlife-- a digital platform she founded in response to the lack of representation of Black, Indigenous, & people of color in the road travel community. Noami shares childhood memories in Trinidad, early experiences with American "outdoorsy" culture, and how embracing nature helped her heal intergenerational trauma and reclaim her...

Francis Mendoza seeks a sense of belonging in the outdoors for all through his work as a naturalist, environmental educator, and consultant. Part of that is recognizing the ways his family, who immigrated from the Philippines when Francis was five, is "outdoorsy": cooking adobo on road trips, rolling lumpia at family parties, and gathering for a day at the local park. Francis shares his intention to learn about his indigeneity and his commitment to sharing his love for nature with his two...

As the co-founder of Queer Nature, Pınar Sinopoulos-Lloyd (they/them/o/pay) has thought deeply about their sense of belonging. As a trans, autistic, first-generation immigrant and Indigenous migrant, Pınar finds home through sharing and honoring cultural practices with their spouse, So. They share reflections from their childhood in Turkey, lessons from the more-than-human world, and the importance of trans, queer, intersex Black and/or Indigenous people of color finding refuge with each other.

Growing up in a family of 12, Dr. Cristal Cisneros (she/her/ella) knew her father's garden, which he stewarded through generational practices from Mexico, wasn't a hobby- it was a necessity. Those experiences propelled Cristal through her education, work, and personal journey of reclaiming her relationship to the outdoors. She shares memories of napping in the sun, running through the garden soil, and skiing with her dad for his first time. As Cristal puts it, "if it brings you joy, you...

In 1924, Mattie Landry started a summer camp that would transform the lives of young Black girls in the San Antonio Eastside community: Camp Founder Girls, the country's first historically Black camp for girls. Angelica Holmes and the team from Black Outside, Inc. recently restarted the camp. Listen to the story of that revitalization and hear from a family of two young girls and their mother, who share how camp has positively impacted their lives. Hosted by CJ Goulding in partnership with...

Listen in on a live (virtual) conversation at the 2021 No Man's Land Film Festival between Outside Voices host and producer Sarah Shimazaki and guest Laura Edmondson! We talk about Laura's childhood in the outdoors and how that cultivated a strong sense of place, her identity as a Black, mixed-race woman and transracial adoptee, plus insights into her work as a digital educator as well as her commitment to rest and slowing down. Get excited for more unscripted, unedited conversations on...

The transition from military service to civilian life is far from easy. Two Black veterans, Charm and Amine, were deeply impacted by their experiences finding community in nature and rebuilding a sense of self with the Sierra Club Military Outdoors (SCMO) program. In this episode, they share beloved childhood memories in Belize and Morocco, speak out about their complicated perspectives of the military, and share stories from their SCMO outings.

Outdoor Journal Tour is a haven, a space for those who identify as women to overcome mental and emotional mountains while climbing physical mountains. We talked with Michelle and Kenya about how this organization and its purpose align with their personalities, how it is needed even more in 2020, and about the intersectionality of being Black women in the outdoor industry. 

Chad Brown, the founder of Soul River, shares his love for fly fishing and how he’s expanding that love to help youth experience nature through camping excursions with other military veterans. We chat about Chad’s childhood, as a descendant of one of the last Black cowboys in Texas, his experience in the military and how he’s navigating his subsequent PTSD, plus his thoughts following the police killing of George Floyd and the recent uprising for Black lives. Hosted and co-produced by Tariq...

What does it look like when we prioritize healing for Black folks and invite them to reconnect to nature and the wisdom of their body? Dominique Cowling is a Black, queer femme and justice-oriented facilitator who offers 1:1 sessions for Black folks in the forest. Join us for a conversation with Dominique and breathe with us as she guides us through a mindfulness and body awareness practice.

Spending time outside isn't just about solitude and silence. At the Refuge Outdoor Festival, a 3-day camping experience outside of Seattle, WA, people of color and allies are invited to gather and build community. We chat with Chevon, the founder of Refuge, and also her parents who traveled all the way from Houston, Texas to camp for the first time. This episode is sponsored by REI. Stay tuned for a sneak peek into their newest initiative: Race and Pace

An avid climber, hiker and outdoor leader, Brittany’s (she/her) connection to nature is rooted in something deeper. The outdoors plays a huge role in helping her heal and move through grief and also in asserting her identity and finding her personal Black joy.

Confined behind barbed wire, 120,000 Japanese were forced to adopt new ways of living to survive incarceration during World War II. One way they found solace was through building Japanese gardens within the harsh concentration camp environment. Host and producer Sarah Shimazaki, a person of Japanese ancestry, revisits Manzanar for the 50th annual pilgrimage and digs deep to learn how inmates asserted their Japanese identity in the gardens-- precisely when they were being confined for that...