Maxwell Ayamba interviewed by Paul Merchant, Oral Histories of Environmental Collaboration, Track 2. © University of Exeter.

Founder of the Sheffield Environment Network, Maxwell Ayamba reflects on relations with mainstream environmental organisations in his work with ethnic minority (global majority) communities in Britain.


Transcript: 
In terms of the environmental organisations like the Wildlife Trusts and those kinds of things, you understand that these have been predominantly white organisations that have practised traditionally along the whole Eurocentric way of nature conservation and recreation. Because honestly speaking, if you understand, communities that come from the developing world see nature as a source of livelihood, because that’s what they’re dependent on [...] and moving here nature is more a creation of leisure, and so, you know, seeing nature on those terms, people are not very, very keen because – not only they are not keen, because they want leisure and recreation, but they cannot afford due to socioeconomic issues. And so, but they – white environmental organisations, or traditional environmental organisations do not understand – they are not culturally sensitive, to put it that way, so they don’t understand that different cultures have different perspectives on the environment and how they relate to the environment. So, my relationship with these environmental organisations has been an uphill task in terms of really trying to reframe the whole narrative of how they work with minoritised community groups to bring them onboard. Because it’s a whole issue to do with organisational culture – the organisational culture would need to be changed but its difficult for them to change the organisational culture because it’s a practice that has been normalised and people working within that particular space are socialised about what they do and their actions have become normalised so they don’t see what they should change that norm […] and therefore it is really difficult to break through and create that difference. 

Image: Pinecone at RENEW Collaborations Workshop. Credit: Angela Cassidy

Maxwell Ayamba on limitations of mainstream environmental organisations

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