Ambreen: Being out in nature makes me feel empowered.
I want everyone to come outside and enjoy nature
because it does belong to everybody.
I'm definitely a glass-half-full kind of person.
Otherwise what's the point of being an activist if you don't believe
you can make change?
Several years ago, I started a project called Brown People Camping.
It's a digital storytelling project based on mainly social media to promote diversity,
equity, and access to the outdoors
so that we can get everyone out there enjoying nature.
My family and I, we immigrated from India when I was 8 years old.
My parents were trying to give us the American experience.
We were trying to learn all the traditions. We just sort of stumbled into camping.
Outside the campground in our real life the whole world was overwhelming,
but when we got to the campsite, my sister and I got to be children.
It was beautiful. It was adventurous. And we did it our way.
And I remember those moments with such joy.
This is my book, "Fatima's Great Outdoors."
I chose the name Fatima because the name is shared in a lot of different cultures.
Brown People Camping is really a love letter to the outdoors to tell folks who look like me
or don't look like me,
people who don't feel welcome in the outdoors, that you are welcome.
I'm so excited about what we're doing today.
We are going to my favorite place, Assateague Island.
The most special thing about Assateague Island
is the fact that there are wild horses there.
So when I'm going camping, I like to prep the night before.
And I think about it categorically. One is tent/sleep.
Everything that I need in the tent: sleeping bag, sleeping pad.
And then I think about my camp kitchen. Tonight I am making ribeye steak.
I have put my spices together so that I don't need to take several things with me.
And this is my special secret spice mix.
I will say that there's turmeric in it. That's the only thing I'm giving away.
We are about to hit the road.
There's a lot of cargo space here, especially when we put the seat down.
We just left my apartment in Wheaton and we are headed to Assateague Island.
But before we get on the highway, we're going to make a quick stop and get some steak.
As-salamu alaykum
Mr. Reza: How are you?
Ambreen: So I'm going camping today and I want to make a steak on the campfire.
I'm going to use a cast iron.
Mr. Reza: Okay. How thick you want it?
Ambreen: How about an inch?
Mr. Reza: One inch. That's a good size.
Yeah.
Ambreen: Mr. Reza, thank you so much.
Thank you.
Now that I have the address in I'm going to look at the drive modes.
Since this is going to be a little bit of a long drive,
I'm going to put it on whisper mode so I can enjoy a nice quiet drive and listen to my music.
I've done a lot of different variations of getting out there
and sleeping under the stars.
But I have to say my favorite has always been car camping.
It's very accessible. You can park where you're going to sleep.
You don't have to carry all of your gear and equipment out to a trail.
And of course my favorite part, which is cooking.
This is my absolute favorite part of the three-hour road trip to Assateague.
You are opening up the sky and descending right into the gorgeous view that is this island.
So we're going to switch up the drive modes.
I'm going to go from whisper to unbridled.
Let's find some ponies!
We are ready to set up camp. The first thing I'm going to do is find some nice flat surface.
The sleeping pad is much more important than you would ever think.
You think that, oh, you're sleeping on sand. How bad could it be?
You'd be surprised.
So that is it. Now that the hard stuff is done, we're going to go explore Assateague Island.
Oh, my gosh. I come here every year and every single time I am so taken by seeing them.
They are such beautiful wild creatures. I honestly can't get enough of photographing them.
This is such a special place and it really only exists here.
It's sort of cheesy, but every time I make a fire, I find it extremely empowering.
That's also something I really love about the outdoors,
which is the things that we take for granted, turning on the stove,
turning on lights, turning the tap on.
All of those things you have to work so hard for in the outdoors.
I like to be generous with the rub because so much of it comes off on the pan.
And that's what you want to hear. That is cooking.
I love the outdoors. And I think so many people out there would also have joyful,
empowering experiences like this if they allowed themselves
the opportunity to go out and explore.
That's really what I'm working towards with Brown People Camping.
I want to show people, you can enjoy the outdoors however you choose.
If that's making a ribeye, or that's car camping,
or that's just taking a walk down the beach.
It's fantastic.
It really is what you want it to be. It's really about pushing your boundaries.
And if you don't feel safe in a certain place,
find your safety, find your comfort zone, but find your outdoors.