Congratulations to Atiya Wells for Being Awarded the Inaugural Richard Louv Prize for Innovation in Nature Connection
From the Children & Nature Network: Congratulations to Atiya Wells, founder of the BLISS Meadows project, for being awarded the inaugural Richard Louv Prize for Innovation in Nature Connection.
Growing up in an urban setting, like many African-Americans impacted by the history of segregation and other patterns of systemic racism, Atiya Wells did not have access to experiences that might have fostered a healthy, loving relationship with nature. At the age of 22, she went hiking for the first time and a whole new world opened up.
Atiya then founded BLISS Meadows in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, to inspire and connect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color back to nature. The 10-acre land reclamation project provides opportunities for children and their families to get to know their ecosystem, to reframe and reclaim the history of their ancestors’ relationship to land and food and to contribute to a sustainable community resource right in their neighborhood. The award was created by the Children & Nature Network, and named for its co-founder.
"I've been thinking if I deserve to be standing here...and I do!" — Atiya Wells
To find out about and help Bliss Meadows, click here: https://backyardbasecamp.org/bliss-meadows
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We hope Atiya’s deeply compelling story will be replicated in other cities and around the world. She reminds us that ours is a happy cause. She also shows what one individual can accomplish by planting a single seed and then asking others to join in nurturing it. Within a three-week span, the Children & Nature Network received over 120 nominations. Each of these represented sacred work. You’ll be hearing more about many of the other nominees in the coming weeks, at C&NN;‘s Finding Nature News. ( https://www.childrenandnature.org/finding-nature-news/ )