People. Nature. Big Ideas.

This month, People. Nature. Big Ideas. host Ronda Lee Chapman chats with Queta Gonzalez—the outgoing director of Center for Diversity and the Environment—about Queta’s fifteen years working at the intersection of equity and the outdoors. This expansive conversation covers democracy, internalizing DEI at your organization, career tips for those working in the non-profit space, and a revolutionary (or a Big Idea, at least!) new advancement in the role of pay equity. Trust for Public Land ...

In this celebration/retrospective episode, Ronda and Tom look back and pull out some highlights from the season. Topics include: disabilities and the outdoors, indigenous knowledge and stewardship, what “representation” in the outdoors looks like for people of color, and more. For folks unfamiliar with the podcast, this is a great opportunity to jump in, hear some snippets from our amazing guests, and take in the joy, complexity, and spirit, at the intersection of people, nature, and big idea...

Pack your six-inch heels, because it’s Pride month on People. Nature. Big Ideas! Ronda is joined by Pattie Gonia, a critically acclaimed drag queen, environmentalist, and advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors. The two discuss making music videos with Yo Yo Ma, climbing mountains with six-inch heels, what it was like to grow up gay in Nebraska, and the confluence of nature, art, and advocacy. Pattie Gonia: https://www.pattiegonia.net/ Won’t Give Up Vid...

Introducing PNBI’s Three-Part Series on the “Outdoors for All Act” In the first two episodes, Ronda talked with community partners who share what outdoors means to them, their community, and their culture. They explored how investing in the outdoors is ultimately an investment in people and collective wellbeing, physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually. In this final episode of the Outdoors for All three-part podcast series, Ronda joins TPL’s annual Day on the Hi...

In the first two episodes, Ronda talks with community partners who share what outdoors means to them, their community, and their culture. They’ll explore how investing in the outdoors is ultimately an investment in people and collective wellbeing, physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually. And in April, for the third episode, Ronda will join TPL’s annual Day on the Hill event in Washington, DC, where they’ll talk with lawmakers, advocates, TPL staff, and journalists,...

“The land loss that Black Chicago has experienced in the last decade—it stops here,” says Naomi Davis, founder of Blacks in Green. Today on PNBI, we’re talking about Self-Determination and the challenges around how communities and individuals are able to shape their economic, cultural, and social futures. To dig into this important topic, we’re joined by Naomi Davis, founder of the Blacks in Green (BIG™), and TPL’s newest National Board member Anton Seals Jr., founder of Grow Greater Englew...

More and more, people of color are being recognized for the variety of ways they step forward to engage with their communities. Whether it’s to help design and build community parks as we’ll discuss in this episode—or, as in our first episode with Tykee James, to apply outdoor activities such as birding as ways to build connections between civil rights history and the Black experience. There are all sorts of unique and exciting ways folks of color are bringing their unique perspectives and ba...

In this, our first episode, host Ronda Lee Chapman talks with Tykee James, government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society. The two discuss the joys of birding and how Tykee came to cofound Black Birders Week. They also explore the topics of activism and coalition-building in the “Freedom Birders” movement, the sticky roots of conservation, how many birds Ronda really knows (more than she thinks), and their experiences navigating the outdoors as people of color. Trust for Publi...