a mini-series celebrating immigrants in the outdoors

“Belonging” features four individuals who identify as immigrants or first-generation, and shares stories about their personal and cultural connections to the outdoors. In partnership with Merrell and released between Canada Day (July 1st) and American Independence Day (July 4th), we’re challenging and redefining notions of what it means to be “outdoorsy,” or “American,” or “Canadian,” and celebrating everyone’s right to find belonging outside.

Featured in this mini-series: Noami Grevemberg, Francis Mendoza, Pınar Sinopoulos-Lloyd, and Dr. Cristal Cisneros.

Episode 1: Noami Grevenberg (she/they)

Noami grew up in the jungles of Trinidad, amidst howler monkeys and mud volcanoes. Since immigrating to the states at 17 years old, she's been steadily reclaiming her connection to nature and sense of belonging. She finds community through Diversify Vanlife, a digital platform Noami founded in response to the lack of representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the road travel community. In this episode, Noami shares childhood memories in Trinidad, early experiences with American "outdoorsy" culture, and how embracing nature helped her heal intergenerational trauma and reclaim her self-worth. Full episode transcript here.

A self-described #AsianOutsider, Francis Mendoza (he/they/sila) seeks a sense of belonging in the outdoors for all through his work as a naturalist, environmental educator, and Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (JEDAI) consultant. Part of that is recognizing all the ways his family, who immigrated from the Philippines when Francis was five, is "outdoorsy": cooking adobo on road trips, rolling lumpia at family parties, and gathering all the cousins for a day at the local park. In this episode, Francis shares early memories, his intention to learn about his indigeneity and ancestry as he "redefines outdoorsy", and his commitment to sharing his love for nature with his two daughters. Full episode transcript here.

As co-founder of Queer Nature, an organism that co-creates queer and trans community through multi-species kinship practices, Pınar Sinopoulos-Lloyd (they/them/o/pay) has thought deeply about their sense of belonging-- or rather, "belonging as resistance," which is Queer Nature's motto. As a trans, autistic, first-generation immigrant and Indigenous migrant, Pınar finds home through sharing and honoring cultural practices with their spouse, So. In this episode, they share reflections from their childhood in Turkey, lessons from the more-than-human world, and the importance of trans, queer, intersex Black and/or Indigenous people of color finding refuge with each other. Full episode transcript here.

Growing up in a family of 12, Dr. Cristal Cisneros (she/her/ella) knew that her father's garden, which he stewarded through generational practices brought over from Mexico, wasn't just a hobby— it was a necessity. Those experiences propelled Cristal through her education, work, and personal journey of reclaiming her relationship to the outdoors. In this episode, she shares joyful memories of napping in the sunshine, running barefoot in the garden soil, and more recently, taking her dad skiing for his first time. As Cristal puts it, "if it brings you joy, you belong there." Full episode transcript here.