Experience and Use of the Peak District National Park by People of Black African Ancestry: Comparing TwoEnglish Cities
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: American and Canadian Studies
Abstract
My thesis explores the spatiality of the Peak District National Park in relation to access and use by people of Black African ancestry in the diaspora. Drawing on the park's cultural landscape and political ecological paradigms, I examine, through ethnography/field notes, the 'lived experience' of participants. My methodology involves active oral interviews/observations through guided walks to explore narratives of research participants as part of social epistemology, enabling me to gather qualitative data on how and why specific cultural narratives about nature are produced. The thesis considers ethno-racial differentiations in park access, different ways of use and how multiple axes of difference historically configure usage.
Black participants of mixed gender and ages will, through a screening process, be recruited from Sheffield and Derby, forming the 'physical space' of the research. Participants are taken on summer walks in the park, interviewed, audio-recorded and transcribed. Archival trips to source information on Government policies on national parks and access issues delivered through stakeholders will constitute the 'conceptual space' of the research. This involves stakeholder interviews with organisations such as the Peak Park Authority, Campaign for National Parks and the two local authorities (Sheffield and Derby). I will interrogate media articles on national parks and access issues and minority communities in the UK. People of Black African ancestry's differing experiences and perspectives of spaces such as National Parks reflect issues of social injustice in terms of unequal access. My thesis investigates the centrality of use of the Peak Park as a 'social space' by Black people to understand the dynamics of Afri-centric cultures and the surrounding natural environment. This research will help unravel the cultural resources, personal narratives and 'epiphany moments' that shape the motivations of those people seeking contact with nature in the UK. It asks what we can learn about nature connectedness through life transition courses, specifically regarding migration, geography, mental/physical health trajectories, and intergenerational responsibilities; how values of nature motivate more intentional contact; and how is this negotiated and enacted through family, peers or health professionals in terms of improving health and wellbeing. This project builds on my 20 years' experience as a Black practitioner in the environmental field working with ethnic-minority groups to access the natural environment. It evolved from an MSc in Environmental Management and my work as an environmental journalist, with recent publications in Ramblers Walk Magazine, Peak Life Magazine and the Landscape Journal of the Landscape Institute.
Black participants of mixed gender and ages will, through a screening process, be recruited from Sheffield and Derby, forming the 'physical space' of the research. Participants are taken on summer walks in the park, interviewed, audio-recorded and transcribed. Archival trips to source information on Government policies on national parks and access issues delivered through stakeholders will constitute the 'conceptual space' of the research. This involves stakeholder interviews with organisations such as the Peak Park Authority, Campaign for National Parks and the two local authorities (Sheffield and Derby). I will interrogate media articles on national parks and access issues and minority communities in the UK. People of Black African ancestry's differing experiences and perspectives of spaces such as National Parks reflect issues of social injustice in terms of unequal access. My thesis investigates the centrality of use of the Peak Park as a 'social space' by Black people to understand the dynamics of Afri-centric cultures and the surrounding natural environment. This research will help unravel the cultural resources, personal narratives and 'epiphany moments' that shape the motivations of those people seeking contact with nature in the UK. It asks what we can learn about nature connectedness through life transition courses, specifically regarding migration, geography, mental/physical health trajectories, and intergenerational responsibilities; how values of nature motivate more intentional contact; and how is this negotiated and enacted through family, peers or health professionals in terms of improving health and wellbeing. This project builds on my 20 years' experience as a Black practitioner in the environmental field working with ethnic-minority groups to access the natural environment. It evolved from an MSc in Environmental Management and my work as an environmental journalist, with recent publications in Ramblers Walk Magazine, Peak Life Magazine and the Landscape Journal of the Landscape Institute.
