by Kristen Goodhue
Denim Fisher (left) and Narcia Jackson look at pinned insects under a microscope at Sweet Hope Free Will Baptist Church. (Credit: Alison Cawood)
As a young student drawn to the intuitive side of things, Denim Fisher never felt completely at home in the science world. But she always had a deep love for nature, as a place to center and ground herself. That love, she acknowledged, comes mixed with trauma.
“The act of engaging with nature can be a daunting, frightening experience for most Black people,“ she said. “This fear response stems from historical racism and the awful things that we endured in these forests.”
Fisher was a graduating senior this year at Pikesville High School in Baltimore. Last winter and spring, she joined a high school internship program run on Saturdays by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Temple X. One particular Saturday stands out, walking through Gwynns Falls Park with her mentor, Alfie Chambers.
“We saw a poplar tree,” Fisher said. “Alfie taught me that Black bodies were lynched on this tree. This tree has gigantic branches, and mobs intentionally used these trees because of the increased likelihood of someone’s death.”
For Fisher, the internship offered a chance to explore new ways to reconnect her community with nature, and to create spaces for healing.