In this deeply moving episode, Marion meets diaspora archaeologist, Dr. Alicia Odewale, to explore an extraordinary idea: trees remember us.

Alicia is the creator of the Black Heritage Trees Project, a groundbreaking effort to map the trees who have become witnesses and companions to Black heritage, belonging and joy around the world.

Together, Marion and Alicia explore:

🌳 What makes a tree a Black Heritage Tree
🌳 Who are Spirit Trees and how they protect and accompany Black communities
🌳 What Witness Trees have seen across generations of Black life
🌳 What trees can teach us about healing, belonging, and intergenerational memory
🌳 Why safety matters for trees and Black communities in the current times of extremist politics.

Tune in to understand how trees are not separate from Black history but our living archives and oldest companions.

🌍 Support Black Earth - listen, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

🌱 Connect, contribute and support the Black Heritage Tree Project - https://blackheritagetrees.com/

💌 Connect with Black Earth team for partnerships, speaking and media requests: https://www.blackearthpodcast.com/contactus

📲 Join the conversation! Leave a comment below and connect with us: Instagram & LinkedIn @blackearthpodcast. We share more resources, stories, and live events on our socials.

Nearly 500 years ago, African survivors of the transatlantic slave trade built communities of refuge and resistance in Brazil and across Latin America.

Today, those same lands, known as quilombos, are also some of the most biodiverse places on Earth, thanks to generations of care and knowledge by quilombola communities.

In this special Black Earth episode, our host, Marion, meets with Fran Paula, an inspiring quilombola researcher from Brazil. Fran documents and shares the life-giving agricultural practices that sustain her people.

Together, they explore the links between land, freedom, and healing as the world prepares for the historic COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil.

🎧 This conversation is in Brazilian Portuguese and English as we bridge languages, communities, and continents across the Black diaspora. Special thanks to Júlia for the translation!

💬 Episode chapters:
00:00 – Intro and Fran’s relationship with nature
07:20 – History of quilombo lands
11:50 – Why quilombo territories hold some of the world’s healthiest natural ecosystems
15:40 – What recognition means and why it’s important for quilombola communities
22:00 – The challenges facing quilombola communities in Brazil
25:35 – Why ‘biocultural reparations’ matters to Fran
29:56 – Healing across generations
40:25 – Fran’s message to leaders and policymakers attending the COP30 climate conference in Brazil

🌍 Listen and subscribe to Black Earth wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

📲 Connect and support Fran Paula - https://www.agriculturaancestral.com/

📲 Connect and support the National Association of Quilombos in Brazil - https://conaq.org.br/

🌱 Join the conversation! Leave a comment below and connect with us: Instagram & LinkedIn & Tiktok @blackearthpodcast. We share more resources, stories, and community activities on our socials.

💌 Connect with Black Earth team for partnerships, speaking and media requests: https://www.blackearthpodcast.com/contactus

As the next climate conference (COP30) approaches, we turn to one of the most urgent and overlooked climate stories of our time: extreme heat.

Eugenia Kargbo, Africa’s first Chief Heat Officer, joins our host, Marion Osieyo, to explore how communities, nature, and social inequality are reshaping how we live and adapt in a warming world.

From Freetown, Sierra Leone to the global stage, Eugenia shares lessons on climate leadership, equity, and resilience. She reminds us that those most affected by climate change are also leading the way forward.

🎧 Listen to understand how the human story of extreme heat is also a story of innovation, care, and community strength.

🌍 Listen and subscribe to Black Earth wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

📲 Connect with and support Eugenia Kargbo - https://www.climateresilience.org/about-executive-leadership

📲 Join the conversation! Leave a comment below and connect with us: Instagram, LinkedIn & Tiktok @blackearthpodcast. We share more resources, stories, and opportunities from our global community on our socials.

💌 Connect with Black Earth team for partnerships, speaking and media requests: https://www.blackearthpodcast.com/contactus

Episode chapters

00:00 Intro and Eugenia’s relationship with nature

03:28 Why Eugenia was appointed Africa’s first Chief Heat Officer

05:35 What causes rising heat in Freetown, Sierra Leone

07:27 What extreme heat feels like on a daily basis

09:13 Who is more vulnerable to the impacts of extreme heat?

14:35 Why extreme heat is not seen with the same urgency as other climate change events

20:27 How we can improve our understanding of extreme heat

23:40 The Freetown Heat Action Plan

26:50 Why nature and communities are our biggest supporters when building resilience to extreme heat

31:20 Eugenia’s lessons on leadership when working on climate resilience

33:30 How to support Eugenia and Black Earth!