As a kid, Chelsea Murphy felt she didn’t belong outside. Now the Leavenworth-based founder of She Colors Nature is making sure her daughters do.

The outdoors in America have a long history as an unwelcome place for Black men and women and children of all ages. Decades of violence and intimidation have made activities like hiking and camping, which have become rituals for many families, more complicated for many Black families.

This didn't stop the parents of Chelsea Murphy from taking her on camping trips when she was growing up in Tacoma. But Murphy still did not feel an affinity for the outdoors until much later in life, when she moved to the mountain town of Leavenworth after starting her own family.

There, surrounded by snow-capped peaks and evergreens, Murphy not only fell in love with the outdoors, but was inspired to spread that love to her daughters and other women and girls of color through her She Colors Nature community.

For this final episode of the first season of the Out & Back podcast, host Alison Mariella Désir travels to the mountain town, where she goes for a hike with Murphy and discusses the origins and aims of She Colors Nature and the future she envisions for her daughters.

Before listening, we suggest you watch the episode about Chelsea Murphy here.

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Credits

Host: Alison Mariella Désir

Producer: Brooklyn Jamerson-Flowers

Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten

Audio production: Bryce Adolphson, Sarah Hall

Audio support: Resti Bagcal, Seth Halleran, Sara Bernard