Brenda Richardson has been partnering with us in various ways since 2018. We’re thankful for her decades of service to DC and its natural spaces, her community-focused vision, and her wise counsel.
Brenda, a self-identified eco-feminist, has been an environmental and community advocate for over 30 years. How did she get started in this work, you ask? She told us, “I have a friend who is an eco-feminist who said that there were few people of color represented in environmental advocacy. After a few meetings, I was hooked.” Not to mention that folks are dissuaded and dispirited, and the environment is not a priority when trying to keep food on the table, she elaborated. That is the inspiration for her work – to be a voice for underserved communities when it comes to environmental protection.
Once she started fighting environmental racism, she didn’t stop. She uses that passion for driving her work: as former deputy chief of staff for former Councilmember Marion Berry and former board member for Anacostia Watershed Society, to her current work with Friends of Oxon Run and partnerships with the Urban Forestry Division (UFD), Metropolitan Police Department, Capital Nature and more.
Her most recent projects include partnering with Casey Trees to do the Ward 8 Tree Challenge, working with UFD and Moms Demand Action to plant memory forests across the District to honor people lost to gun violence, and hosting Trauma Breaks, a forest bathing experience for adults at Oxon Run Park that uses the mental health benefits of trees to help with trauma recovery.
She ended with the beautiful sentiment, “Trees are a blessing for underserved communities who have been peppered with hardship…[that is why] planting trees and connecting to the community is so important.”
Honestly, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves! It’s great to have people in the world like Brenda and we are thrilled to be a supporting partner to her work.
