The cultivation of a relationship with nature begins for people at different times in their lives. For me, it began while camping as a child in northern Chile with my family — all five of us sleeping next to each other, bundled up listening to what were potential cows snapping twigs in the distance. For Saima Shah it was a sustainability group in college that introduced her to outdoor recreation and stewardship that eventually led to her job in the Park Service.
Shah, 26, is currently working as an interpretive ranger at Mount Rainier National Park. It is her second year at the park, and although it wasn’t the path she had envisioned for herself, she doesn’t see it changing any time soon.
As a child growing up in Atlanta, Shah’s relationship with the outdoors was cultivated by the almost daily walks she took with her family at a national recreation area near her home. It wasn’t until college that she was introduced to other forms of outdoor recreation and began going on hikes with friends and then taking her family to the routes she explored. Her newfound relationship with nature was a main contributor to her decision to apply for the park service after graduation.
Shah studied pre-med in college and although she had originally planned to continue her education, the years she spent as an undergrad burnt her out. She wanted a break from academia and the parks service offered just that.
Boston National Historic Park was the first place she heard back from and she welcomed the opportunity with open arms, but when she arrived her anxiety went from bad to worse. Before the job even began Shah knew she was at a bit of a disadvantage because of her background which was rooted in biology. The park is centered around the history of the area and it was going to be something that she would have to get acquainted with, this she knew and was ready for. What Shah was not ready for was the lack of diversity in her coworkers.
“There were so many levels of fear and my nerves were supercharged but I just remember looking around and being like, ‘I’m the only person of color on my team’,” she said. “There were these little incidents that occurred, and I felt that I couldn't share what was going on with my colleagues because they couldn't relate. At times it was very isolating.”
Although at times she felt alone, Shah was able to bond with her supervisor, who was also a woman of color with a background in biology. Her supervisor helped her when she was feeling out of place, but it was still difficult to not have another person of color doing interpretation with her on the day-to-day. Shah is still extremely thankful for the job, she was able to form a new appreciation for history and made great friends. Her next position would prove to be a bit more difficult. She didn’t get another position at the Boston National Historical Park, so she opted instead for a position with the Boston Harbor Islands, and at that park she really was the only person of color.
Shah’s shock at this point wasn’t just the lack of diversity in the parks, but the lack of diversity in Boston itself.
“I grew up in Atlanta, so I was pretty used to being amongst many others who have the same skin tone as me,” she said. “Going to Boston I thought it was going to be kind of a similar situation but honestly it's getting so gentrified. A lot of the marginalized communities are being pushed out of the center of Boston and it felt pretty whitewashed in a way.”
She missed the feeling of being in a community of people who she could relate to, she missed her family, and she missed the food and culture of the South where she was born and raised. But in the end, she chose to see the positives of being isolated in her struggles.
“Being alone and being the only minority representation for the past three years was absolutely challenging, but it also helped me grow,” Shah said. “I was much quieter in the beginning and now I'm more vocal. I know that in some situations I might be the only person of a minority, so I have to be louder.”
As with most industries in the past few years, the park service has been slowly but surely becoming more inclusive and diverse. And a lot of it is because of people like Shah who chose to remain patient and stay in potentially uncomfortable positions because they knew that even if they were the only ones, they were one, and that was already an improvement.
“I think that within all of us we do carry generational trauma, but we have to reclaim these outdoor spaces and work towards creating new relationships with them,” Shah said. “I understand that when you're coming into a place where you don't see anybody who looks like you or anybody that you can relate to or shares any of the identities you embrace, how isolating that can feel. But I think it's important that you are there, and although it's you alone you're helping others who share those same identities follow your path.”
It’s a ripple effect that can touch a whole population. Shah was not introduced to outdoor recreation until she was in college. From there she went into the parks service and worked amongst people who knew more ways to recreate. She went camping for the first time when she was 24, with coworkers from the parks service. She created relationships that she cultivated, not only with the people she met but also the spaces she inhabited. She began backpacking and exploring more of the land, she reconnected and then took her family out to reconnect alongside her.
Shah’s ripple is one of thousands if not millions. Imagine how many people have seen her in a park, sporting the uniform, and how they may have been inspired by her representation. Inspired to go out more, inspired to tell their friends, to share a story and help someone else, as Shah puts it, “follow in her path of reclamation”. She wants to see the United States when she looks out onto the trails of Mount Rainier, and any other ark for that matter.
She wants to see the 40% minority representation that makes up this country’s demographic. The demographic or park visitors is not there yet, but it’s getting better every year. And Shah, along with most others, can’t wait to be a part of the park becoming a place for all people from all backgrounds and experiences.