Alexis Nikole Nelson published her first TikTok post in March, foraging for food in her neighborhood instead of going to the grocery store. She woke up with tens of thousands of views. Since her early days at summer camp, the Ohio native has always been interested in nature. Nelson discusses what she forages and how to win over skeptics by offering them education when foraging in public spaces. “It’s a weird time to be a tall, loud, Black woman doing an activity that someone can’t immediately identify,” she says. Nelson has close to half a million followers.