Roushanna Gray | Ocean & Nature Storyteller | South Africa
Founder of Veld and Sea, Roushanna is a wild food artist, foodie, and avid forager. She shares her passion for the edible landscape through immersive educational experiences, connection and creativity.
Veld and Sea hope to inspire reciprocal relationships with the land and ocean through immersive learning and nature as our classroom.
Image Credit: Alexander Oelofse
When did your ocean/nature storytelling journey start?
In 2013 when I first started working with edible seaweeds in South Africa.
What are the fondest memories from your upbringing that you feel impacted your life choices and lifestyle today?
Growing up in Cape Town filled with diverse landscapes and wild coastlines has always been a huge inspiration. Impactful memories include trips up to the West Coast National Park in spring to see the flowers in vibrant bloom growing right up to the shore and big annual family picnics at the beach in summer.
Finding passion and purpose in inspiring advocacy for our natural environment through my work is a gift of reciprocity. Just as we form connections and bonds with the people in our lives, so do we develop relationships with nature as we experience the wonder it holds.
What path did you choose after leaving school?
After I left school I worked in retail, food services and art, and travelled overseas. I discovered my passion - the intersection between nature and food - when I landed a job cooking for a film crew in the middle of the Namibian desert for four months.
What/Who currently inspires you?
Nature, always.
What do you value most in life?
Family, time, the ocean, health, knowledge, and community.
Are there any books/documentaries that have inspired your journey?
Living on the earth - Alicia Bay Laurel
Deep – James Nestor
Supernature - Lyall Watson
Animal Vegetable Miracle – Barbara Kingsolver
Seaweed Chronicles – Susan Hand Shetterly
Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
What would you most like to change in the world/environment today?
That more knowledge is shared about just how incredible and valuable the environment is. One of the best ways of doing this is through storytelling and experiential learning.
What are you currently doing in/around the ocean?
I am writing a cookbook - a weaving of stories, recipes, photos, science and art. I will be working alongside a coastal recycling project, teaching children about edible seaweeds in a small fishing community on the West Coast in Elandsbay. I hope to continue the project of reintroducing seaweeds as a forgotten food with the Guriqua Tribe along the Atlantic Ocean on the West Coast of South Africa.
What legacy do you hope to leave?
I hope to inspire reciprocal relationships with the ocean through immersive learning and nature as our classroom, developing stewardship, and respect for our environment.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow their dreams?
Dive right in - If you are passionate about something and your heart is in it, work will flow. Put in those long, hard hours, pay attention to detail and enjoy the ride. Remember that pause and dormancy are only seen as a failure the way modern-day humans value success, but is a healthy and healing part of the seasons, cycles and rhythms of nature. Never forget to infuse your own uniqueness into your storytelling!
