All the feels: understanding eco-anxiety with Jennifer Uchendu

02/15/23 • 38 min

Jennifer Uchendu is an ecofeminist and sustainable development advocate from Lagos, Nigeria. She is the founder of SustyVibes, a youth-led organisation making sustainability actionable and relatable for young Africans. Jennifer is also a pioneering researcher in eco-anxiety, and most recently launched The Eco-Anxiety in Africa Project.

In this episode, I speak with Jennifer about what eco-anxiety is, how power and anti-blackness shape our emotions of eco-anxiety and practical things we can do to safeguard our emotions of eco-anxiety. Grab a cup of tea, this is a powerful episode.

Episode timestamps

00:00 - Welcome to Black Earth podcast

02:13 - Jennifer’s relationship with nature

06:11 - What is eco-anxiety?

09:00 - Why the climate conference in Madrid (COP25) changed her

11:10 - How power shapes our emotions of eco-anxiety

14:52 - What eco-anxiety means for communities most affected by climate change

18:53 - Where’s the place of race in eco-anxiety?

28:55 - Four ways to safeguard eco-anxiety

31:07 - The power of hope and eco-anxiety as climate emotions

35:06 - Connect with us at Black Earth podcast

Support Jennifer’s work

Susty Vibes - https://sustyvibes.org/

The Eco-Anxiety in Africa Project - https://www.teap.sustyvibes.org/

Connect with Black Earth Podcast - https://www.blackearthpodcast.com/

Episode timestamps

00:00 - Welcome to Black Earth podcast

02:13 - Jennifer’s relationship with nature

06:11 - What is eco-anxiety?

09:00 - Why the climate conference in Madrid (COP25) changed her

11:10 - How power shapes our emotions of eco-anxiety

14:52 - What eco-anxiety means for communities most affected by climate change

18:53 - Where’s the place of race in eco-anxiety?

28:55 - Four ways to safeguard eco-anxiety

31:07 - The power of hope and eco-anxiety as climate emotions

35:06 - Connect with us at Black Earth podcast

Support Jennifer’s work

Susty Vibes - https://sustyvibes.org/

The Eco-Anxiety in Africa Project - https://www.teap.sustyvibes.org/

Connect with Black Earth Podcast - https://www.blackearthpodcast.com/

Previous Episode

Breathing air, breathing justice with Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah

In this episode, we meet Rosamund, a clean air advocate from South London. She has been named by Vogue as one of the most influential women in the UK. In 2013, Rosamund’s nine-year-old daughter, Ella Roberta, died from toxic levels of air pollution 25 metres from their home.

In this powerful episode, Rosamund shares with us her personal journey of turning the injustice of her daughter's death into purpose. We discuss the causes and effects of air pollution on our health and the health of the environment. We also explore how air pollution particularly affects black, Asian and ethnic minoritised communities in the UK, and solutions that will make a positive difference in the long-term.

Episode timestamps

00:00 - Welcome to Black Earth podcast

03:13 - Rosamund's relationship with nature

06:21 - Ella's passion and gift for music

07:13 - Ella's story and Rosamund’s journey for justice

11:44 - Grief

12:33 - What is air pollution

13:22 - Impacts of air pollution

14:20 - Sources of air pollution

14:54 - Why it's important to address inequality and air pollution

16:56 - Perspectives that black community can bring to addressing air pollution

18:26 - Long term solutions for clean air

20:29 - Individual choices that make a difference

22:29 - Ella's Law

23:26 - Ella Roberta Family Foundation

25:38 - Connect with us at Black Earth podcast

Support and follow Rosamund’s work: https://ellaroberta.org/

Support and follow Black Earth

We are on Instagram, Tiktok, and LinkedIn: @blackearthpodcast

Our website: https://www.blackearthpodcast.com/

Next Episode

Love, farming and food justice with Leah Penniman

Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol farmer, mother, soil nerd, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2010 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim black people’s ancestral connection to land.

In this episode, I speak with Leah about her personal journey into farming and what it means to cultivate a healthy and just relationship with land through farming. Throughout this inspiring conversation, we celebrate the contributions of black farmers and black growers in America and around the world.

Episode timestamps

00:00 Introduction

1:27 Leah’s relationship with nature

3:55 Landscapes that have shaped Leah’s passion for social justice, farming and food justice

6:02 The connection to land is personal, political and cultural for African-Americans

9:15 How food apartheid shaped her journey to co-founding Soul Fire Farm

12:57 The four elements of a healthy and just relationship with land

16:25 What a healthy and just relationship with land looks like at Soul Fire Farm

18:58 The four wings of the butterfly of transformative social justice

20:42 Why it’s important to remember and center Afro-Indigenous farming practices

24:26 bell hooks, love and trauma in black people’s relationship with nature

31:33 How to talk about food and land justice when living for many is unaffordable right now