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I was out in the woods near Yellow Springs with Patty Allen, director of the BIPOC Food and Farming Network, looking for morel mushrooms.
"I smell mycelium. I can smell it," Allen said.
This isn't really something I grew up with as an urban kid from Detroit. Being out here with Patty, I realized this isn't just about mushrooms. It's about connection to the land and slowing down enough to notice what's around you.
"When you make yourself still and really engage and connect with nature, with all your senses." Allen continued.
I loved that reminder that connection to nature is already in us, and that is part of what led Patty and the BIPOC Food and Farming Network to create something intentional. The BIPOC Food & Farming Network is a statewide alliance that elevates Black, Indigenous and other professionals of color working in agriculture.
"And so we knew that there was a disconnect between nature and our youth in urban settings, and we wanted to figure out a way to bring them together in a meaningful way, in a very intentional way, through this camp," Allen said.
That idea became an intergenerational overnight camp that I had the pleasure of helping to lead. Families, children and elders all came together outdoors. The group went birding at Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs with Nicole Jackson, known as the Black Birder, learned camping skills and spent time grounding in nature.
"I honestly didn't know what I was expecting," said camper Crystal Durgins.
"I was hoping for some time outside with community and a good experience to have with my son. I was happily surprised by the specific type of community and the healing nature of the camp," Durgins continued.
She told me that one of the moments that stayed with her the most was watching her son Ethan at camp.
"I was very proud to see that he was able to be so forthcoming about his feelings. So I was proud. I was surprised and proud," she said.
At the beginning of the weekend, during our opening circle, Ethan asked the group for something simple.
"He was basically asking for everyone to be kind, and he was explaining some of the differences that he has. He was just requesting that the community be kind and supportive," Durgins explained.
I asked Ethan, "Tell me a little bit about what you expected."
"I expected it would be something good, and it was. It actually made it good," said Ethan.
I then asked, "Was there anything that surprised you at the camp?"
"There's a bird-watching place and the camping place where you get to put all the tents," he said.
I asked Ethan, "So you camped, and you bird-watched, and you learned all kinds of new stuff."
"Yes," said Ethan.
"Seeing more people, you know, that are my shade, that are also nature lovers — it was just such a wonderful, enlightening moment," Durgins said.
"What would you tell other kids who maybe have not done an overnight camp and are, I don't know, maybe feeling a little nervous about coming?" I asked Ethan.
"If you don't try, you're not sure if you can like it or not. Otherwise, you don't know," he said.
I asked Ethan, "What was your favorite part?"
"The s'mores," Ethan said.
We laughed together.
Mine too, Ethan. Mine too.
We Outside is made possible with support from Five Rivers MetroParks and produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
