Nature is Ours: Forest of Cultures is an online artsite platforming non-western voices inspired by Grizedale Forest in response to the lack of representation of people of colour in the UK’s green spaces and climate justice concerns. Supported by Art Fund and commissioned by Grizedale Forest and Signal Film and Media, the piece is co-produced by Mahmoud and Faten Almregawe, Lina H Tyson, Renzo, Rumi, Ilona Bitner, Ayehm and Roula across a series of workshops with artist and curator Jessica El Mal. This artwork is a testament to the love and connection we all find in nature, in spite of the structural inequalities which can make them inaccessible.

The site offers embodied experiences engaging all five senses as a way of reconnecting ourselves with nature; things to read, including a newly commissioned piece by Climate in Colour founder Joycelyn Longdon, things to listen to, to watch, to try, to cook, to smell... all from non-native perspectives. NIFOC inverts the usual power dynamic of the host country teaching those who have migrated to it (teaching its languages, its customs etc) to instead acknowledge what the host can learn from us. The site is personal, it shares personal memories, stories and expert natural knowledge as a site of resistance, of love and of care.

To use the site, click on an image to discover a new activity.

With Nature is Ours: Forest of Cultures, we invite you to step into the forest. The forest in Grizedale, but also the forest in our hearts and in our minds. Explore the site to find activities suggested by the group and feel the benefits of nature from your own home, wherever your home may be.

Read What Makes a Forest? by Cimate in Colour founder Joycelyn Longdon.



Nature is Ours: Forest of Cultures, is an online artist commission for The Digital Forest project. To find out more including how to get involved and take part in two public workshops that engage with some of the elements of the piece visit the Signal Film and Media website.