Zakiya Mckenzie began her working life as a scriptwriter and journalist in Kingston, Jamaica, New York City and then Johannesburg, South Africa. Back home in England, she became a ‘Green and Black Ambassador,’ making connections between Bristol’s African-Caribbean communities and the city’s booming environmental sector. She holds a Masters of Research in Environment, Energy and Resilience from the University of Bristol where she graduated with a dissertation on the social and ecological implications of Exxon Mobil’s massive oil find in the Caribbean country of Guyana. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Literature from the University of Exeter looking at Black journalists in Britain. Zakiya is also a volunteer producer-presenter at Ujima 98fm Bristol. Now, as one of Forestry England’s Writer in the Residence, she continues a love affair with writing, heritage and nature.