Home: Nature As a Portal to My Inner Child

By Munachiso Obiefule

I write to you from a local bookstore/café/third space across the street from Howard University. This family-owned café is a pillar of the local Black community here in DC, hosting discussions on afro-centric topics, author talks and film discussions, as well as serving some of the best sandwiches and wraps I have ever tasted. Just last month, I was in Los Angeles, breaking the news that I was moving to DC. In the chaos of graduating college, moving out of my apartment, and packing (poorly) for my trip, there was no sadness or grief. As I looked forward to moving across the country, only nostalgia and gratitude remained as friends and acquaintances shuffled in and out of my last college apartment to help me move and say, “see you later”. 

Since migrating from Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 2013, I have lived in a few places. In Cleveland, Ohio, I lived in a high-rise apartment sandwiched between a creek and a major highway.  During my senior year of high school, I spent a year in the plains of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I never went to the park, never took walks, and my mental health deteriorated. In 2020, we returned to a different neighborhood in Ohio. Our neighbor was a White woman who would invite me mountain biking. We took long rides through the forests of Cuyahoga County. Her leading the way, me trailing behind on a borrowed bike. We spent long moments in silence listening to the wind and the sound of changing gears. During these rides, I felt elation and grounding long forgotten, even while I prepared to move again later that year. 

Upon arriving somewhere new, I first connect with the land, with the colors, the plants, the birds, the water – the symphony of nature. I’ve lived in the United States for about twelve years. As time passes, I lose memories of my childhood in Nigeria. Most of the remaining memories revolve around nature. Observing snails, cracking shelled peanuts while watching shooting stars, walking hand-in-hand with my grandmother on her farm. The fellowship application asked us how we envision a “Just Climate Future.” This question was hard for me to answer because I could only think of these feelings and faint memories of childhood. The origin of my interest in climate and environmental justice is quite selfish. Nature is healing. Nature is a portal to my inner child; therefore, I want to spend as much time with her as possible. 

When I received the email that I was being considered for the Hazel M Johnson fellowship with OurSpace World, I was in disbelief. I would not be here if not for a serendipitous moment between me and another Black woman. It was the last night of the application period and although I was almost done with my application, I had decided not to complete it. We met at an Eco Film Festival and took up a conversation during the reception. She happened to know Wawa and Black Girl Environmentalist. She urged me to leave the event and to go home and “just submit it!” This week I led a dance workshop with a cohort of children ages 5-12 as part of Camp Earthpact, a one-week African-centered nature camp that aims to cultivate a decolonized relationship with nature and train the next generation of environmental stewards. Nine-year-old Muna who felt isolated and alone in a new country could never have imagined that she would be here today. I am very proud of her. 

Until next time,

Muna