Oakland’s ‘Negus In Nature’ Goes From the Forest to the Big Screen

Finding space to create community isn’t a luxury readily afforded to large groups of young Black folks. But in Oakland, there’s a collective doing just that by stepping into the biggest venue of them all: nature. 

Since its founding in 2020, Negus In Nature (NIN) has organized hikes and open mics in the redwoods, as well as community service programs, whale-watching adventures and even a trip to Kenya to install solar panels. Just this week, they returned from Ouray, Colorado, where they went ice climbing for the third year in a row.

Following their travels via social media is inspiring, and people will soon be able to watch the collective’s story on the big screen in the Negus In Nature Documentary. The 20-minute film, which highlights their travels and the lessons learned along the way, will premiere at the Emeryville Film Festival at AMC Bay Street on Feb. 8. 

Simply put, the film shows what NIN founder Langstyn Avery calls “tree-colored people” in nature, building an intentional community. Although each individual’s level of expertise differs, event attendees grow throughout the film as they try new things. In one scene, participants go from introductory scuba diving lessons at DeFremery pool in West Oakland to doing the real thing off the coast of Catalina Island.

The documentary features compelling footage of people learning to rock climb and kayak, intertwined with personal testimonies of triumph. Watching it unfold, it’s easy to become engrossed in their journeys.

In the film’s opening moments, Avery explains that the group’s name derives from “Negus,” the Amharic word for king or ruler. Sitting on a tree stump in a lush woodland area, Avery elaborates, “Amharic is one of the oldest languages.” Using his eyes to gesture toward his surroundings, he continues, “And we’re just tapping in with nature, with some of the oldest forms of life that we know.”

Avid NIN event attendee Delvon Hogg begins his interview in the documentary by asking a cawing crow in the distance to go back to sleep. The bird immediately hushes, and Hogg jokes that the interaction is proof of his “oneness with nature.”  

Hogg adds, in a more sincere tone, that his experience with the group is a reminder that he truly is in tune with the natural world. “Beyond the cars, beyond the bills, beyond the hustle,” says Hogg, “I am of the birds and the bees… the squirrels and seeds.”

Hogg is a one of a handful of people — including Deej Letemps, Jenn Pfotenhauer, Phillip Lang, Shogun Shido and more — interviewed in the film. Many of the featured people are artists and creatives, and all of them share tales of flourishing in the great outdoors. 

The group started in 2020 during the racial reckoning and isolation of the pandemic’s early days. It began with a trip to the Yuba River with just 13 people; now the collective has a following of over 22,000 folks on Instagram.

During a phone call, Avery tells me that ultimately numbers aren’t important. Some events have a couple dozen attendees, and others have over 100. “Our success,” says Avery, “is when people are helping each other without permission.” He adds, “You don’t always need to be at your rock bottom in order for us to help.”

Too often it takes an unfortunate occurrence — a death in the family, a tragic car accident or somebody losing their house in a fire — for people to respond with a helping hand, Avery attests. “You might be in a good place, and I still want to help you,” he says. “It’s about building community and helping folks along the way.”

The goal of the film, much like the collective as a whole, is to show Black folks that they aren’t alone in their outdoor adventures. He acknowledges that the wilderness can be imposing to anyone, especially to a person who has been told that it’s not for them.

But the key is connecting that individual to a larger web of nature-loving people. He compares it to that of the mycelium network, the underground connection between forest fungi and plant roots that allows them to share resources.

“There’s so many people within our underground network,” says Avery, reflecting on his past five years of exploration. He says all around the world the group has planted seeds that are ready to sprout new relationships. “The connection is there, we just need to go out and find it,” says Avery.

And once those connections are well-established, says Avery, the vastness of the unknown becomes a lot less scary. “And it’s really fun too,” he adds.

The Negus In Nature Documentary will screen at the Emeryville Film Festival on Feb. 8. Details and tickets here.