During the month of June, working at my internship, I had the opportunity to meet with different professionals, both scientists and professors who have worked more closely on the issue of wildland fires in Puerto Rico. These meetings were very helpful, because I was able to compare information I had previously searched with information from professionals. At the same time, it was a process of great learning about the subject, because I was able to delve deeper into aspects that I did not know related to wildland fires.

An important activity that occurred during this last month was in the municipality of Lajas. This event was organized by the Hispanic Access organization of the Community Navigator Program with the purpose of orienting communities about some of the effects of climate change and talking about community resilience. This activity was of great importance, because I had the opportunity to give a presentation about the wildland fires in Puerto Rico, and the forest firefighters also participated. At the same time, it was of great benefit to the people from the community who attended, because they were able to inform themselves and ask all kinds of questions about the issue of wildland fires. Another activity in which I participated with the work group was the Pollinator Fair at the Rio Piedras Botanical Garden. This activity was a very educational one, where we were able to provide information to people about the different projects that the Forest Service has.

Working these months as an intern in the Forest Service has been a very rewarding experience, where I have acquired many tools for my professional development. This opportunity has helped me expand my knowledge about the problems we are facing in relation to Climate Change, which I consider to be of utmost importance at the time we are currently living in Puerto Rico. Immersing myself in this topic of wildland fires has also helped me connect with different people of interest who are focused on working for the well-being of natural resources. This has been essential for me because my professional interests have been focused on working on mitigation and conservation issues.

During the remaining time of the internship, I would like to continue learning more about the issue of wildland fires in the United Virgin Islands and hope to have a broader knowledge of how this problem is being worked on from other spaces like Puerto Rico. Being able to have all this information that I have been collecting in both places will help me have a more complete picture to continue working with the educational material of the Community Wildland Fire Defense Program project. Likewise, this information will be of great help so that organizations that work on related issues can work to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable communities.