Black Mesa State Park

Northwest Oklahoma

Photos & Video by Sarah Ahmad

“Stories from the Core”
an Eco-therapeutic virtual walk of Black Mesa, Oklahoma
by Sarah Ahmad

“Soundscape with Music” from Oklahoma State Parks

Healing with Nature Meditations by Maryam Ahmad

Narrated by Julie Pearson Little Thunder

“The tracks were recorded during the fall filming season by Broken Arrow-based Retrospec Films.” URL: https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/soundscapes

Eco-therapeutic Virtual Walks Series by Sarah Ahmad

Black Mesa virtual walk is one in a series of eco-therapeutic virtual walks in Oklahoma’s public lands and state parks that invite viewers to immerse themselves in majestic public land, honoring past loss and allowing for hope. The virtual walks fuse my photographs, video, and textual prompts with Healing with Nature Meditations prompts by Maryam Ahmad, that invite viewers to bring their own narrative to the earth. Long a source of conflict, Oklahoma's land can also be a source of healing when placed in an eco-therapeutic context. The virtual walks unite Oklahoma's geo-history and eco-therapeutic principle with personal narrative to foster public acknowledgement of grief, and ultimately of healing. Tucked in the panhandle’s uppermost corner, Black Mesa Park hosts Oklahoma's highest geological formations. Far from city centers and geographically isolated, Black Mesa offers a raw confrontation with nature that is absent from urban settings and communities. “Stories” reveals the natural world’s potential for radical self-care. —Sarah Ahmad

[Black Mesa Rock Garden, Black Mesa Hike, Black Mesa Summit, Lake Carl Etling]

[Black Mesa Sunsets, Milky Way]