Being a Woman Environmental Educator of Color

November 24, 2020

As a Climate Corps Education Outside Fellow. Maninder Kaur spends her days as an environmental educator at an elementary school in the Bay area. The school gardens serves as an immersive learning experience. With the students, Maninder dives into a curriculum of soil science, organic waste, gardening, and more.

Majelia Ampadu, Climate Action LAb’s social media coordinator, shared a conversation with Maninder about working in environmental education as a woman of color. Maninder discussed the lack of diversity in environmental education, and the environmental field as a whole.

“I feel this immense amount of responsibility for my students to make this experience worth while for them. It’s important for them to see someone that looks like them. To see someone with brown skin. To see someone that looks like me that cares about the environment,” said Maninder, “It’s so important to see ourselves in our leaders.”

On October 12, Maninder tailored her curriculum to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, engaging with her students on Indigenous Peoples’ history. “When we talk about the people who know the best way to care for our earth and our land,” reflected Maninder, “we’re talking about Indigenous People.”

Back in Spring 2020, Maninder’s curriculum touched on plants native to California. This opportunity allowed Maninder to dive into a discussion with her students about acknowledging Indigenous Peoples, connecting native plants and traditional ecological knowledge to Indigeniety. As Maninder entered into a new season with the students in the fall, she knew that she wanted to continue these conversations on Indigeneity and environmental justice in her curriculum.

During her interview with Majelia, Maninder spoke about the excitement she had as Indigenous Peoples Day neared by. Maninder prepared her class presentation and materials, scouring the internet for educational tools and videos. With her students, Maninder provided a brief introduction on Indigenous Peoples—watching videos on “What does Indigenous mean?” and practicing the names of local Indigenous nations.

In class, Maninder asked her students—ranging from Kindergarten to 5th grade—“What day is it?” Some students responded “Columbus Day” to which Maninder responded “It used to be Columbus Day. Does anyone know what the new name for the holiday is?”

A few students recognized Indigenous Peoples Day, and Maninder dove into an explanation for why October 12 is dedicated to celebrate Indigenous Peoples over Christopher Columbus. She explained that Christopher Columbus did not discover America and said—in exact quotes— “he did some not so nice things to Indigenous People.” She left the conversation with those words and continued on with her curriculum on native plants and gardening.

However, after the class, Maninder was notified of a complaint from a few teachers and a student’s parent. Upset, one parent expressed that Maninder’s celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day was not “age-appropriate”. Some teachers thought Maninder’s discussion on Indigenous history was “too detailed” and “inappropriate”, questioning “How much do students need to know about the history?”

Throughout the rest of the interview, Maninder dives into the significance of acknowledging Indigenous history, her position as an environmental educator of color, and how to navigate white spaces within environmentalism.