Hola MANO familiá! A lot has gone on over on this neck of the woods since we last talked. I recently was afforded the opportunity to work from the back country for a week and this granted me a surplus of time to reflect on my journey going from playing in grungy, unkempt bayous as a kid to getting paid to backpack through the beautiful Eastern Sierras for a living. Having grown up in the slums of Southwest Houston, Texas- known as the nation's fog capital in the 1990s- my childhood environment was defined by high levels of ozone and particle pollution, contaminated water, an increasing intensity and frequency of floods and hurricanes, disproportionate distribution of urban tree canopies known as the “heat island” effect, and consistently rising temperatures and wetness- all impacts felt from climate change. While eight billion people share this planet, most environmental impacts are felt locally and unevenly as demonstrated above. Now with this context in mind, you can better imagine just how full-circle of a moment it was for me to be able to sleep under the stars, swim in alpine lakes, and slide down the sides of snow-covered peaks all for the very first time. 

With my upbringing in mind and considering that contact with nature has been proven to promote community ties, reduce violence, and strengthen both physical and mental health, one of my goals during my time working for the Forest Service and Hispanic Access Foundation is to challenge numerous policies and practices surrounding the uneven destruction and distribution of Earth’s benefits. Subsequently, I aim to mitigate barriers preventing equal access to the great outdoors. In doing so I hope to shift paths for inner-city youth who also grew up in impoverished environments away from incarceration, drug rings, premature deaths, teen pregnancy, etc and instead towards pursuing higher education and careers in green and sustainable enterprises. 

All thanks to the networking opportunities afforded to me through Hispanic Access Foundation and the USFS, I have been able to expand local partnerships, build connections with local tribe members and leaders, help coordinate not one, but two National Public Lands Days events set to take place later this month, pitch the creation of a celebratory event in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, monitor trail conditions at Schulman Grove, and live in the backcountry for a week to complete trail restoration and maintenance work all while learning how to track volunteer hours and subsequent agency monetary savings for fiscal year 2023.

All in all, my time partnering with HAF and the USFS has been nothing short of a dream. I hope you were able to find solace in my story and just know that I am doing everything in my power to ensure that one day everyone will also have the opportunity to experience a full-circle moment in nature reconnecting with their inner child.