UROP Project
Sitting with Trees: Visual Storytelling, Eco-Autoethnographic Research, and Black Elder Wisdom
Visual Storytelling , Black Ancestral Knowledge, Trans/Inter-generational Memory, Grandparents, Arts-Based Research
Research Mentor: Dr. Dr. Christal Mischelle Omni, MPH, MLS, She/Her
Department, College, Affiliation: OMNI Institute of Well-being, Inc., Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: Christal.omni@gmail.com
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Gemini Williamson she/her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: GOW23@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: OMNI Institute of Well-being, Inc., Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: Christal.omni@gmail.com
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Gemini Williamson she/her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: GOW23@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors with an emphasis on:
Illustration
Studio Art
Graphic Design
Environmental Studies
African & African American Studies
Creative Writing
Digital Media / Visual Communication
Project Location: virtual
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 7, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors with an emphasis on:
Illustration
Studio Art
Graphic Design
Environmental Studies
African & African American Studies
Creative Writing
Digital Media / Visual Communication
Project Location: virtual
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 7, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- Day: Tuesday, September 1
Start Time: 4:00
End Time: 5:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/91078188319 - Day: Thursday, September 3
Start Time: 4:00
End Time: 5:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/91078188319
Project Description
This research project explores illustration as a form of inquiry, memory-keeping, and intergenerational storytelling within Black families. It builds upon the Sitting with Trees study conducted with Black women ages 65–70, which documented how intentional time with nature functioned as a site of reflection, healing, spiritual grounding, and life-story meaning-making. In that study, elders described trees as witnesses, teachers, and relational companions across the arc of their lives.Since the completion of the original study, Sitting with Trees has expanded through conference presentations, invited talks, and course design in university and community settings, positioning nature as a living text and story as a form of knowledge. This work has now entered a publication phase through an anthology contract that centers elder wisdom and a children’s book contract that extends the research into intergenerational space—foregrounding Black grandparents and grandchildren encountering trees together as sites of memory, care, and transmission.
This current phase invites research mentees interested in illustration to support the visual translation of this arc. Illustration is treated not as embellishment, but as method—capable of holding ancestral presence, silence, emotion, and relational knowing beyond words. Research activities may include visual journaling, illustration drafts, and collaborative story development contributing to children’s literature, curricular materials, and arts-based scholarship grounded in Black ecological knowledge.
Research Tasks: Research assistants will support the project through a combination of creative, analytical, and reflective tasks, including:
1. Visual journaling and observational drawing connected to nature-based inquiry
2. Illustration drafts and image development for intergenerational narratives
3. Storyboarding and visual sequencing for children’s book concepts
4. Assisting with the visual translation of elder narratives and intergenerational themes
5. Reviewing and organizing visual materials for archival and curricular use
6. Participating in reflective dialogue about illustration as a research method
7. Supporting conference, course, anthology, and publication-related materials as needed
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
1. Experience with illustration, studio art, or visual journaling
2. Willingness to engage illustration as a research and reflective practice
3. Openness to working with themes of ancestry, memory, nature, and intergenerational storytelling
4. Reliability, care, and respect when engaging elder-centered and child-centered narratives
Recommended
1. Familiarity with children’s literature or narrative sequencing
2. Comfort with reflective writing or arts-based research practices
3. Experience working with or learning from elders and/or children
4. Basic digital skills (scanning artwork, organizing image files, or working in shared folders)
5. Interest in Black studies, environmental humanities, or creative research methods
Mentoring Philosophy
I take a eco-womanist approach to my pedagogical practices to support the wholeness of students, not just their intellectual well-being. I even offer creative, metaphorical undercurrents of eco-womanist thought because of my deep love and honoring of Mother Earth. I prioritize the "green heart" approach to mentoring as I follow a G.R.O.W. acronym:To be Gentle: I acknowledge that students may not show up to the classroom or my office in emotional states of readiness; therefore, I create and hold space for healing and self-restoration that complements the educational goals of the course or meets the needs of the meeting.
To honor Reciprocity: I honor the fact that teaching and mentoring are spaces of reciprocity. Although there is a structured system of hierarchy based upon my position as an educator, I frequently remind students and mentees of the power that they, too, possess based upon their own lived experiences.
To provide Oxygen: I honor my Divine assignment to support student's educational and emotional journeys of discovery. I provide a fresh air approach to research as well as my courses. I build in nature-based experiences in every course to allow students time to engage in a Praxis of Pause rather than be consumed by a culture of hyperproductivity.
To amplify Wonder: I ensure that most encounters are full of excitement and potential. I offer opportunities to demonstrate creativity while expanding one’s imagination.
Additional Information
This project is part of a longer-term, multi-phase research and creative program that integrates qualitative research, arts-based inquiry, teaching, and publication. Research mentees will be joining a living project with active scholarly, pedagogical, and publishing pathways already in motion.Participation offers exposure to:
1. Arts-based research methods grounded in Black feminist, eco-womanist, and Afro-Indigenous traditions
2. Intergenerational storytelling practices centered on Black elders and children
3. The full research-to-publication arc, including conference presentations, course design, anthology development, and children’s book creation