Finding Your Place in Nature: Shukura Babirye ’17 Champions Outdoor Inclusion
By the Alumni and Communications Team, UWCSEA
23 July 2026
Shukura Babirye ’17 Moja Collective is guiding communities toward meaningful experiences in the outdoors.
In her day job, Shukura Babirye ’17, UWCSEA Alumna from Dover Campus, is a project manager in the technology industry in the United Kingdom. Outside of work, however, she’s either volunteering, spending time outdoors, or relaxing at home. She first channelled that passion by starting an Instagram account dedicated to showcasing greater diversity in outdoor spaces. Three years later, she’s the founder of Moja Collective, a Black-led organisation working to open up equitable access to the outdoors for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and building a confident, connected community of nature-lovers who feel they truly belong in these spaces.
“I didn’t always see myself reflected in traditional outdoor spaces, and I wanted to build something where both I, and others, could feel at ease. I started Moja Collective because I wanted to create an outdoor space that felt more intimate and comfortable, especially for introverts like myself. The idea was to explore different ways the global majority or BIPOC could connect with nature, whether that’s through walks and hikes, meditation, conversation, or simply spending time outdoors together,” Shukura shared.
She explained the deep significance of the name itself.
‘Moja’ means “one” in Swahili. It reflects the philosophy of being “one community, one collective,” where the group is shaped by the people in it, “the collective really is what you make of it.”
For Shukura, the response has been deeply encouraging.
“Last year was our most inspiring and impactful so far. We explored more places across the UK than ever before, moving beyond the South East and opening up new landscapes to the community. Honestly, it’s gone better than I ever expected, and the impact has really exceeded what I initially imagined when I started.”
In 2025, Moja Collective conducted 10 walks or hikes, three nature-based activity sessions and two hiking trips to the UK’s Peak District and Lake District, serving dozens of people. For many, it was their first time visiting these iconic landscapes—a milestone that reflects the organisation’s growing impact.
“As cheesy as it sounds, it feels like a big win whenever someone tells me they genuinely enjoyed the experience or felt impacted by spending time in nature. On a personal level, meeting people who’ve supported me throughout my journey as a community founder has been a huge win too,” says Shukura.
She has also been struck by how quickly the community has taken shape, from the group being mentioned in The Guardian to new members discovering Moja Collective through word of mouth.
The journey has not been an easy one. Shukura makes a conscious effort to carve out time for herself so she doesn’t burn out, balancing her full-time job with community building while running the organisation.
“A lot of it has surprised me, especially because my expectations were so low at the beginning. When I started the group, there were definitely naysayers, but I chose to ignore the noise, focus on the positivity, and give it a proper shot. I told myself: let me do this for a year and see how it goes. Now I’m in year three.”
She reflects that if she had quit just three months in, she would have missed seeing the community flourish and all the opportunities that followed.
She credits her time at UWCSEA for giving her the “can-do” spirit, “UWCSEA made it feel normal to just start something without overthinking it or leaving too much room for doubt.
Passion can come with challenges, but if it were easy, everyone would do it! Let your project grow and evolve as you do, and follow your heart, you’ll get to where you need to be.”
If there was a society you wanted to start, you could just do it and build a community around shared interests, whether that was film, drama, photography, or anything else. That mindset really stuck with me, and that definitely influenced how I approached creating Moja Collective.”
Shukura’s advice to those thinking of starting something that “doesn’t fit the norm” is to, “Just go for it! Don’t let anyone tell you it won’t work out. Give yourself time before saying no. I didn’t tell many people what I was doing at first; I just started. Sometimes you need to give yourself a push and avoid getting caught up in external validation. Let your project grow and evolve as you do, and follow your heart, you’ll get to where you need to be.”
Today, Moja Collective has expanded its activities, with conservation projects and grounding practices like meditation, guiding participants toward deeper, more meaningful engagement with the natural world.
If you are based in the UK and identify as part of the global majority (Black, Asian or other minority ethnic background), join our next walk. We are on social media (@moja.collective) and Eventbrite.
