Jasmine Brown–Black Wisdom in Ecology

Jasmine Brown, Doctoral Student
Department of Forestry

The Black Ecologist’s Section of ESA would like to shine a light on the value of centering Black cultures, values, and systems of knowledge in the natural sciences. This month, we are highlighting the work of Jasmine Brown, a graduate student in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. Jasmine studies African Americans’ legacies with forests and the field of forestry. She especially appreciates the joy of unearthing gems about African Americans’ relationships to trees and forests in history: for example, as much as forests have represented danger and trauma, especially during the slavery and Jim Crow eras, they have also often been places of healing; African Americans have long used herbal medicine to treat many common ailments. To learn more about Jasmine’s work, check out her recent interview with Michigan State’s public radio station (WKAR).

Over the next few months, we will continue to highlight the work of Black ecologists whose research draws from Black systems of knowledge. If you would like your work to be featured in this series, please complete the attached google form. 

You can contribute to our ongoing efforts in supporting the well being and professional development of Black ecologists by making a donation to our section: https://ecologicalsocietyofamerica.org/blackecologists/donate/. 

Don’t forget to cite Black ecologists in your next paper!