ENVIRONMENTAL K.W.E.E.N.

KWEEN Werk poses with trekking poles. Credit: Adrian Michael

Challenging the conventional conceptions of an environmentalist one narrative at a time.

Story and Photos by Adrian Michael

The sun rises over the horizon of the Flatiron mountains and a group of seven people, all of whom are of different ethnicities, genders, shapes, and levels of hiking experience, have come together to enjoy the outdoors and camaraderie while tackling the beaten path of the Flatirons Vista Trail.

The organizer of the hike, Parker McMullen Bushman, believes whether you’re a person of color, plus-sized, or new to nature, the outdoors is meant for you.

McMullen Bushman is known as K.W.E.E.N. WERK, an acronym she developed that stands for Keep Widening Environmental Engagement Narratives.

“I was looking for something to encompass who I am as a person,” said McMullen Bushman. “I love wearing makeup, fun blingy accessories, and very colorful clothing. I saw that those styles did not fit in, and I started thinking about all of my different identities as a fat, Black femme, fashion-loving type of person. I looked for a name that embodied all of those things, and that’s how K.W.E.E.N. WERK was formed.”

McMullen Bushman describes herself as a nontraditional environmentalist, who has been in environmental, conservation, and outdoor spaces, where she didn’t fit the mold. 

“I like hiking because I have the ability to go at my own pace. It is always nice to walk in nature, and I realized that it is really important to have a conversation about who is and is not represented in these spaces.”

McMullen Bushman’s conservation efforts began when she was young, but she didn’t realize it at the time.

“I was 9 years old, living in the Bronx, and didn’t even know what conservation and environmentalism were, but I knew I cared very deeply about the environment. My dad and I would recycle aluminum cans, and I would notice all the trash that was being left behind, and I worried about it.”

After a suggestion from her parents to write a letter to the New York Times, McMullen Bushman’s deep passion for the environment grew even stronger.

“I remember writing my letter saying, ‘Dear people, we are killing our planet,’ and this helped me gain my sense of place.” Unsure if her article was ever published, McMullen Bushman learned that it is important for people who are living in urban environments to have a voice “I had a love for the environment but never had an outlet for it and didn’t know that conservationist was a job.”

After graduating from college with a degree in Anthropology, McMullen Bushman began working at an environmental education center, which would be her introduction to finding her voice. As McMullen Bushman explained, “Being in this space, I was exposed to the conversations, environmentalism, and conservation — I realized a lot of this stuff was what my family had already been doing naturally, but we were doing it out of necessity and didn’t call it environmentalism. And we need to have this conversation about what is environmental engagement.”

For example, McMullen Bushman recalls how her grandmother’s garden was used to provide food for her family. and how she reused Tupperware containers to wash clothes. Her uncle, who didn’t have a car, rode his bike to work but never realized he was saving the planet from carbon emissions. These were conversations they were not having because what they were doing was out of necessity.

McMullen Bushman considers herself an Environmental Justice Warrior, a term founded by Dr. Robert Bullard, who focuses on environmental impacts and harms. These harms are a form of discrimination because they are denying lower-class communities equal protection under the law.

“Environmentalism and conservation have a rap of being only for white, wealthy people who are able to reuse and recycle items. Sadly, urban areas don’t have access to these services, and it is important to change the narrative around them,” McMullen Bushman said.

Ecoinclusive is the name of McMullen Bushman’s consulting firm, where she teaches diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility training for conservation organizations. She also created the Inclusive Guide, a tech startup she co-founded, where people can rate outdoor spaces for safety and how welcomed the business makes them feel. The goal is to change the entire system.

“I think that the way our system has been developed, it is not a fluke that we have these disparities,” McMullen Bushman said. “Our policies were designed and developed by white landowning males. When you’re in power, you are going to create something that works for you, and when we don’t have all people represented at the table at the inception, we end up with the disparities that we see now.”

Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod recently contributed to passing HB21-1318, the Outdoor Equity Grant Program, which works with grassroots organizations in Colorado to provide funding to organizations that are trying to get traditionally underrepresented people into outdoor spaces.

“Leslie is a champion,” said McMullen Bushman. “I also think of people like Tayshia Adams, who is the first Black woman commissioner to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. She’s been working over the last few years to really try and have a voice and to make a change. There are so many amazing, strong Black women here now and throughout history, so I really feel like I am standing on the shoulders of giants.” Social media has been beneficial in leading the charge for environmental freedom.

“I realized there needed to be more representation in this field. I never thought of myself as outdoorsy, as the things I was doing were not typically associated with outdoorsy activities. I wasn’t sky diving or mountain climbing, activities that are traditionally represented as white. I realized it is important to see myself, a plus-sized Black woman, in these outdoor spaces.”

With more than 17 thousand Instagram followers and 209 thousand TikTok followers, McMullen Bushman has a strong platform to elevate her voice.

“People have told me, ‘Wow, I never thought I could do something like that. You’ve inspired me just by seeing someone that I recognize as my same body shape or size. You’ve inspired me to give it a try,’ and I think that is also really important because if you can’t see it, it is hard to be it,” McMullen Bushman said. “Most of all, I want to encourage everyone to use their voice around the causes that are important to them.

These conversations for diverse representation in outdoor spaces and environmental justice can seem daunting, but if each one of us does what is meaningful to us, it will have the biggest effect. We have to believe in ourselves, that we can do things that are worthy of change.”

Editor’s Note: This story ran in the June 2022 issue of the Denver VOICE