Emily A. Seiffert, Deputy Director of North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier, Vermont
When Dr. Opeyemi Parham received an inheritance from her aunt seven years ago, she knew she wanted to use it to create something special: a place for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) to gather in a natural setting — a safe and beautiful space to build community, here in the third-whitest state in the country. Little did she know, when she bought a yurt to bring this dream to fruition, that a 100-year flood a few years later would sweep the yurt away — nor that it would safely find its way to a nature center eager and ready to support her dream.
A family inheritance
Dr. Parham — or “Dr. O” as she warmly invites folks to call her — has lived in central Vermont for six years, but this story begins 100 years ago, and over 900 miles away in Union Point, Georgia. This is where Dr. O’s aunt — Dorothy Louise Parham, or “Dot,” as she was known — was born on her family’s farm, the third of four daughters. Being descendants of enslaved Africans, her family lived in fear of white Klansmen, who targeted Black families for owning and working their own land. So in the 1920s, the Parham family joined the Great Migration and moved north to Evanston, Illinois.
Dot loved to be outside, and dreamed of becoming a farmer. She planned to return to that land in Georgia and farm it, but societal expectations and a full scholarship to Howard University steered her onto a different path that led her to a happy marriage and a lucrative career. When Dot died at age 92, she gave ten loved ones (including her niece, Dr. O) access to intergenerational wealth. Dr. O used her share to purchase a yurt, which she named “Dot’s Place,” and set about offering it to the community as a place for connection to nature, to self, and to others.
“BIPOC Americans have often been excluded from leisure time in nature and from programs that educate us about our relationship to the natural world, so after a career in medicine, I wanted to create a place to help people gather and access a different type of healing, in nature,” said Dr. O.
First located at a campground near the Winooski River in Plainfield, Vermont, Dot’s Place served as the nexus for Dr. O’s dream, but region-wide catastrophic flooding in July 2023 caused extensive damage to the campground and permanently changed the site’s topography, leaving no room for the yurt.
“Luckily, it floated, and was carried downstream a hundred yards before being gently deposited in a newly created wetland,” Dr. O explained. She quickly began searching for a safe new home for Dot’s Place, but the flooding had exacerbated an already gridlocked real estate market, with hundreds of families and businesses in dozens of towns suddenly finding themselves displaced.
Finding a new home at NBNC
Dr. O soon reached out to Sister Sankofa, a BIPOC activist and community advocate here in Montpelier, Vermont, who has been connected to NBNC since 2021 when she began utilizing our free- and reduced-cost rentals for BIPOC folks. Sister Sankofa made introductions and soon we were all dreaming up the many ways that Dot’s Place could be used at the nature center. Before long, Dr. O generously offered to donate the yurt to NBNC, and we agreed to steward this gift by taking on responsibility for its repairs and upkeep, and by fostering its continued use as a BIPOC affinity space.
We were recently asked why NBNC chose to make space for Dot’s Place, and why we chose to pay for the requisite upfront repairs, site work, and permitting, which totaled $10,000. Our answer is three-part:
- It’s the right thing for Dr. O. She articulated a need and a vision to continue the legacy of Dot’s Place, and she told us that she felt safe and comfortable at NBNC. As white allies, we recognize that this feeling of belonging and safety is no small thing for a BIPOC woman in a predominantly white community. We are honored Dr. O chose to partner with NBNC, entrusting us with a piece of her family’s history and inheritance.
- It’s the right thing for our community. Dr. O’s nature-based programs and gatherings are continuing in Dot’s Place, in its new location, which is fully wheelchair accessible (the old location was not). Sister Sankofa, Dr. O, and others have been dreaming of building a BIPOC community space — ideally a whole or shared building in downtown Montpelier. Plans for a shared space with the local food pantry were destroyed by the same flooding that displaced Dot’s Place and filled most of our downtown buildings with water and mud. The yurt now serves as one option for a BIPOC gathering place, while the dream of a larger, downtown community space continues.
- It’s right for NBNC, too. NBNC is 28 years old, and for the past decade we have been steadily and successfully growing our staff size, programs, and facilities. After a major facility expansion five years ago, we are again bursting at the seams. Our constituents ask for more programs, but we are limited by our number of indoor teaching spaces (a large multipurpose room and a small one-room preschool); and by our lack of sufficient meeting and office space (18 staff members share the six small converted bedrooms of our 1800s farmhouse). Dot’s Place provides much-needed breathing room for meetings and workspace, a lightning-safe indoor space for summer camp and other programs, and a cozy spot for winter programs. We are excited to start adding new programs based out of the yurt which will serve new audiences.
Dr. Opeyemi Parham cuts the ribbon at the dedication of Dot’s Yurt on Juneteenth.
Working to close the Nature Equity Gap
Saying ‘yes’ to Dr. O was firmly rooted in our commitment to closing the Nature Equity Gap. We believe all people need and deserve access to nature and nature education, and we work to dismantle the barriers that exist.
Thanks to funding from two of our foundation partners, NBNC was able to add a new position — Community Engagement Coordinator — to our staff two years ago. This position is dedicated to advancing our organization’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Our focus has been on building community partnerships with and co-creating programs with and for people historically marginalized from our field — BIPOC, Disabled, LGBTQAI+, financially disadvantaged, and more.
Our biggest successes have come when we have built relationships directly with people from — and organizations led by — the communities we seek to better welcome. Working at the speed of trust, we are learning what people in these communities want and need from NBNC. With some partnerships, we work to co-create and jointly lead programs, leaving lots of room for feedback, reflection, and refinement. With others, like that with Dr. O, we are primarily giving her the space to run her own programs on the land, based out of Dot’s Place.
An inside view of a yurt: a black wood stove stands in the middle, folding wooden chairs align the outer perimeter of the room.
A dream fulfilled
“Dot never did get to farm, so I like knowing that Dot’s Place will live on as a BIPOC gathering place, on a former sheep farm, next to a Community Garden, and embedded in an organization whose mission and work is connecting people with nature. Dot would love that,” said Dr. O.
We are so grateful to Dr. O for her tremendous gift and for choosing to partner with NBNC as we work to restore and increase access to nature. What better way is there to achieve deep and systemic change, than to literally share space, and time, and resources?
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