Getting outside to build climate-resilient communities

Written By Peter Allan

Treetop trek with We Outside participants. Photo submitted by Kiana Bonnick

 

By Patricia Lane & Emma Chu

These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity.

Kiana Bonnick is building climate-resilient communities locally and internationally. This 28-year-old uses her spare time, as operations director of Womxn Of Colour Durham Collective (WOCDC), to provide culturally sensitive opportunities for fun in local natural spaces, while creating community and building resilience. Kiana has worked with the United Nations and, through the Black Diplomats Academy, she has been a representative at the UN’s first session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, helping engage Black and racialized women and non-binary voices in international climate decision-making.

Tell us about your project.

We Outside and Get Outdoors offer free recreational, educational and wellness programs geared toward young self-identified racialized women, femmes and non-binary people. Both provide safer spaces for youth to talk about mental health and well-being, explore sports and recreation, and build peer-to-peer relationships and community. We offer a range of free activities, from yoga and hikes to snowshoeing.

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Peter Allan
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