Director of the Black Environment Network
I grew up in Hong Kong. I loved maths and science. We had a very inspiring chemistry teacher who made chemistry the favourite subject. But I also connected deeply with art, philosophy and nature: in Chinese culture they are closely linked. I left for school in Australia at age 15, on my own.
As a child I trained as a traditional Chinese artist, and I wanted to carry on painting, but my parents pushed me towards a profession for security. For them studying architecture was logical as it was ‘aesthetic’. It didn’t last.
I moved to London, but I found life as an artist in the Western mode very solitary. So I became a community artist. In 1987 the great storm happened. At the school I was working with the only tree fell down. It triggered a whole succession of activities around rebuilding the garden with plants from all over the world to reflect the children’s countries of origin, and I linked up with the Black Environment Network (BEN).
BEN’s work is about connecting mainstream organisations with ethnic minority communities so that they can realise their potential and make their contribution. Often, it’s about raising aspirations. We link up with BTCV, the Bat Conservation Trust, the Geographical Association and others. Current themes include nature conservation, urban design, history and heritage, promoting employment, health, access to the outdoors and urban green spaces.
Right now we are commissioned by the Countryside Council for Wales to set up a volunteer placement and work shadowing scheme. Members of ethnic minorities will be supported to discover a range of environmental jobs and gain experience that increase their chances of employment. Some professions are more than just about science - a marine ecologist may need to scuba dive to survey marine life, and a botanist may need to abseil down a cliff as part of the work! Very exciting!
And we do a lot to encourage women. Science and nature are everywhere in the running of a home and on the doorstep. Women of all ages can enjoy and discover this – if they are mothers, they can pass their confidence and interest on to their daughters.
Last year I went to China and visited the Wolong Panda Reserve when the earthquake struck. It was the most frightening thing. The Reserve is set in a ravine, the worst place to be in an earthquake. The cliff just exploded. A bus of Chinese tourists got buried. They all died, as did five of the staff. But the workers at the centre went back in and rescued the 18 baby pandas that needed feeding by hand. The after shocks were massive as well.
Now we face the recession. Funding has become a struggle for many groups, but the economic crisis means environmental volunteering can play an even more important and necessary role. It helps open up new opportunities for people hit by recession and unemployment. Growing your own food can save you money, improve your health, and protect our earth. And volunteering underpins a shift towards a more environmentally-aware society with different values and ways of working.
Judy Ling Wong is Director of the Black Environment Network. She is a Board Member of the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), and is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institution Of Water and Environmental Management. She is a member of the DCMS Heritage Forum and Historic Environment Executive Committee and the IUCN/WCPA Task Force for Cities and Protected Areas. In 2007 she received a CBE for services to heritage. The top photo is by Jane Sebire.
Comments
Ruth Wilson (UKRC moderator):
You have done so many different things, Judy - thanks for telling us about them here. The world of environmental action and volunteering must have changed enormously over the years that you have been involved. What are the main changes, and do you feel that the volunteer profile has become more diverse?
Rachel Tobbell:
Hi Judy, As you probably know, at the UKRC we work with many women who are trying to get back to a career in science, engineering or technology after a break. Reasons for a break include the need to care for children or relatives, sickness, redundancy, or because they have 'drifted' into another sector and moved away from their scientific/technical roots. We encourage them to see volunteering as one way of building confidence and skills that can help them progress to paid employment. Do you see volunteers building skills that would be valued by an employer? If yes could you give some examples?
Gill Kirkup (UKRC and Open University):
Hi Judy, thanks for blogging about the work you are involved with. I imagine that you are very busy and you took time out of your other activities to do this? I wonder what you felt about sharing this kind of information about yourself in a blog. I\'ve enjoyed reading all the bogs on the site and I am fascinated in how diferent they all are. I\'m a blogger myself - in a different site, so blogging interests me. Blogs seem to be places where people can develop their own voices, and to have voices that are different from those they use elsehere. Do you think you\'ll do more blogging, perhaps on BEN? Good luck Gill
Judy Ling Wong:
Ruth, when I started in the 80s environmental volunteering was really narrow and about only doing good to nature. Now the whole momentum is two-way - people for nature and nature for people. As part of this trend organisations like BTCV have worked really hard to ensure that multicultural participation, addressing the needs of women or older people and so on become a reality. It is very encouraging.
Judy Ling Wong:
Dear Rachel, Certainly in the environmental sector, a technical or science background plus volunteering is a major thing re getting jobs. The environmental scene has also really transformed itself in attending to social needs such as building confidence and giving people life skills besides working for nature. In terms of job skills, most environmental organisations such as Groundwork, Wildlife Trusts and BTCV etc. all have certificated training for volunteers that are job focused. Friends of the Earth can move people into the campaigning and public relations field. On the life skills side, organisations like Women's Environmental Network combine cooking with teamwork, environmental awareness and action in the home, enjoyment and multicultural knowledge sharing. It is a great scene for women.
Judy L Wong:
Dear Gill, I did respond to your comments but they do not seem to have appeared so here goes again. Basically, working within the ethos of BEN, sharing good practice, information and experience means accepting that one is a public person. A lot of BEN's achievements depends on responding to people's opinions and needs and sometimes revealing aspects of oneself enriches the background against which it all happens. At the same time, one is concerns of setting boundaries and like you say developing different voices, which is what all kinds of relationships are about. We are considering having blogging on the BEN website so it is something for the future. I am glad you enjoyed my blog.
Pam Wain (Daphnet):
Judy, thank you so much for your fascinating story. The Black Environment Society sounds a very worthwhile endeavour. I much enjoyed reading your website. As you say, there are so many facets to the BEN efforts, and the world gains in so many ways. I do hope that in times of financial stringency, those holding purse strings will see the way that volunteer efforts can multiply the impact of funding. I hope maybe we can use the Connect network to present a joint voice. And please encourage BEN members to become mentors! It does help if you are struggling in a difficult world if someone just a little further along than you will take the time to listen and help you explore your options. Sometimes people who have followed unconventional career routes feel they would not be wanted by mentoring schemes, whereas really their insights may be extra valuable.
Ayo Bakare (UKRC):
Hi Judy, Its great to read your blog and read about the great work you are doing independantly and with other key organisations! I have included your network on our new online interactive map of organisations and networks that help SET women. This map can be found at http://www.ukrc4setwomen.org/html/connect/ You can search this map for groups operating across the UK and internationally that share some of your aims. It would be great if you and any other women\\\'s networks could register with UKRC Connect and perhaps attend one of our popular networking events where you can meet likeminded groups and foster new relationships!
Judy L Wong:
Dear Pam, Thank you for your very useful comments. We will make mentoring one of the themes of our next annual networking conference. Would you like to present something about the Connect network? Linking all our strengths is certainly the way forward in difficult times.
Judy L Wong:
Dear Ayo, Thank you for your interest. Linking up and working together is so important for all of us now. We will certainly look at UKRC and I hope you can make a contribution to our annual networking conference in the coming year so BEN network members can connect with you directly as well. Keep in touch
Carolyn Roberts (University of Glouceste:
Hi Judy, And don't forget the great work that you have been doing with our University to find out about the opportunities and challenges that ethnic minority and international women (and men) face, when studying environmental science subjects at University. This is a fascinating area, and has shown us a lot about the technical and social support we need to provide for those learners with family responsibilities, varied levels of parental expectation, and similar issues. But it has also highlighted the benefits for the institutions, the disciplines and the whole student body, of securing wide participation in our subject areas. I'm posting up the link to a presentation given at a recent Higher Education conference, in case anyone is interested. It's at http://www2.glos.ac.uk/offload/ceal/MyDoorAlwaysOpenCRR.ppt Continued success to BEN's work, Carolyn
Ruth Wilson (UKRC moderator):
Dear Carolyn, What an interesting piece of research. Its helpful that, alongside the barriers you and the students reveal, you remind us of what a rich resource overseas students are in terms of knowledge, attitudes and ideas - and I imagine that in environmental studies, where we face global problems, building communication across diverse communities and countries is in the end the only way forward. Can you tell us any more about whether and how the experiences of men and women students varied? Have you been able to alter practice through the work you've been doing? And are you aware of CARA, the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics? http://www.academic-refugees.org/ They do some very good work as well. Thanks Carolyn and everyone for your comments.
Sheila Heard:
Hi Judy, I'm the employment and training adviser at CARA - the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, based at London South Bank University. We are part of the UKRC network. I'd be very interested to know if you are aware of CARA and what we do and whether you'd like to talk with us to see where our work may overlap. The link to our website is above and do hope we can talk. Kind regards, Sheila Heard Education Training and Employment Adviser, CARA (People wanting to learn more about refugees and our work can order a copy of our 75th anniversary book,'The Refuge and the Fortress: Britain and the flight from tyranny.' See our website for details.)
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