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Author: Christian La Mont

From Seafood Markets To Science

por Melissa Belen-González

My path to where I am now, seemed unreachable from the start. Although I always had an interest in marine biology growing up, my parents continued to discourage this interest as marine biology-based careers don’t make very much money. I attended community college and transferred to my local university due to financial reasons, but continued to pursue marine biology. There was nobody in our entire family who ever pursued a career in any science or research, and my parents lacked the knowledge of higher education to support my interests. I think the first time they realized there was some hope began when I was able to participate in paid internships through the National Science Foundation. I left home for the first time to gain hands-on experience in marine biology on the East Coast. Through this experience, I learned I didn’t want to be in a lab every day, but that I wanted to be outside doing science.

I soon became molded by marine ecology where I was able to connect with the outdoors. Through my undergraduate lab and a change in research interests, I was crawling through the mud of salt marshes. Salt marshes were a type of ecosystem I grew up seeing from the freeway that framed the sun as it set over the ocean, I never knew there was science to be done in them. The remainder of my undergraduate research focused on how predators and prey species interact within the salt marsh. Just like the crabs I used to play with at the seafood markets or help my family boil, the predator I studied was also an aggressive crab. This specific crab, Callinectes bellicosus, although not valued by locals, is an important commercial fishery species in Mexico. It was refreshing to study an animal connected to my culture and one that fellow Mexicans would laugh about when sharing how they had been pinched by the same crab. The site I used to collect or sample crabs had a popular bike trail, which made collecting problematic at times. White American bicyclists would stop and stare, some gave me dirty looks, and other times I’d get anxious that they would call the police on me after prolonged quiet stares. Despite potential setbacks, being in the field makes me happy.

As part of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanx/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), I was able to bring what I had learned back into my community. With fellow Latine young scientists, we organized outreach events at our local low-income K-12 schools. We also hosted workshops for our university’s Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán and Association of Chicana Activists annual conferences.

“Field work has helped me cope with these difficult times. Being out alone in the middle of an empty forest or salt marsh is where I have been able to reflect.”

Melissa Belen-GonzÁlez

After I graduated from San Diego State University, I moved out to Savannah, Georgia for a year-long fellowship. With the majority of salt marshes removed in California, it can make work difficult to find. Despite the small size of Georgia’s coast, about one-third of all salt marshes on the East Coast are IN Georgia! I teach coastal ecology related classes or labs virtually, indoors, and outdoors. I also had a project that involved making my own traps from re-used materials and walking out in the middle of an empty forest to put the traps in a wetland. However, leaving home was also a difficult decision because in the field of marine ecology I’m often one of the few, if not the only, BIPOC. The lack of overall representation means that even when given the opportunity, BIPOC still struggle. Being on the opposite side of the coast, I also worry about my Abuelita’s Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.

Field work has helped me cope with these difficult times. Being out alone in the middle of an empty forest or salt marsh is where I have been able to reflect. The beauty of the outdoors is relaxing and something I hope more of our community can have the opportunity to enjoy. Through Latino Outdoors, SACNAS, Latinx in Marine Science, Minorities in Shark Science, and other organizations I hope the future generation is starting to see themselves represented.

I’m the product of Filipino-Mexican first-generation parents. I was born and raised on Kumeyaay Land, specifically San Ysidro and Valencia Park. I faced a childhood of colorism and wasn’t allowed to play outside or enjoy the outdoors. My first introduction to the ocean came from my Abuelita and Lola (Filipino grandma), both who brought me shopping in seafood markets. Ultimately it was the comida of our cultura that gave me the passion to pursue marine ecology and connect with the outdoors.

From Caracas to Corvallis

por Eduardo González-Dorta

I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. I grew up exploring the Venezuelan plains, beaches, and tropical forests. Eleven years ago I moved to Colorado by the Rocky Mountains National Park, Sand Dunes NP, and much more, all of which reinforced my love of the outdoors and wildlife. I graduated from the University of Colorado – Denver with double majors, Sociology and Criminal Justice. During college, I worked in the offices of Boulder County and Denver County District Attorneys, as the only bilingual assistant. During the last three years, I worked as a Bilingual Educator Performer at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, engaging diverse audiences, and communicating communities’ needs and values while developing and implementing culturally appropriate programming. I am currently working at The Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex, in Corvallis, Oregon. Here as the US Fish and Wildlife Latino Engagement Program Coordinator l am engaging the community and familia to what this wonderful place has to offer.

Starting a community outreach program in the middle of a pandemic, with rain, and cold weather, one could say, is less than ideal. However, how we say back home pa’ lante es pa’lla. Since the end of October 2020, I have made my home in William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. There are plenty of wetlands and a myriad of birds and mammals to spend the whole day watching and learning from. The contrast with Colorado is remarkable, no brown only a wonderful palette of greens, yellows, and grays. My job with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife is Latino Engagement, Program Coordinator. So, my first goal was to make sure all the literature was bilingual and accessible to all communities, secondly, was to provide bilingual programs and activities to all surrounding communities, welcoming them into the refuges and encouraging their interest in the wildlife.

In order to communicate in times of COVID, I contacted every single agency providing fun and rich programming and resources that would serve the Latino children and their families. We worked on making all materials bilingual and culturally relevant. I had to create, adapt, and implement activities for all ages so families will feel welcome.

In the refuge, there is not such a thing as a “rain check”. We work and offer our programs rain or shine because that is the beauty of this place, fauna and flora are always available to give a show to the keen or the beginners eye. Many days at our pop-up activities tent, it is me and my friends the egret, a gang of elk, or a shy bobcat. However, my bookings have been getting filled up with families coming to the refuge to participate in guided activities and science. Familias are also coming. They like sharing that time outdoors with kids and the great wildlife at the refuge. They only need a good chamarra and patience to enjoy.

An Adventure in Yosemite

por Anthony Monterroza

This place was nothing short of jaw dropping beauty from the moment my vehicle’s tires rolled onto the frozen roads of Yosemite National Park. The sounds of ice crunching beneath my tires filled the air as I rolled my windows down to breathe in the unbelievably fresh air that the forest was projecting.

My car glided into a snow-covered parking lot and backed up with with ease into my spot. I noticed my eyes could not move quick enough to take in and process every bit of intense detail that was being projected by the world before me. I was feeling a sense of freedom I had never felt before.

As I stomped my way across frozen bridges and slippery roads I passed several roaring streams, flowing strong from the literal tons of snow that the present winter has brought. I was in basic waterproof hiking boots and sweatpants along with a thermal, t-shirt, and windbreaker jacket to tie it all together. In my backpack I had water, camera, tripod, trail mix, and a weatherproof speaker to keep me going along my journey. Needless to say I was not much prepared for my trip at all and if it wasn’t for my driving passion to find adventure and create my own personal journey to self-growth, I would not have gone far before turning back after a few hours of basic walking and leaving to sit within my hotel room.

I began my ascent upwards towards the famous Half Dome trail, stopping multiple times to gaze in bewilderment at the profound landscapes that presented themselves at every clearing that was along my path. I was slipping profusely on the frozen rock and dirt as the trail began to slope with the steady rising elevation. The walkway had a thin layer of ice over the top of it which made falling on my ass inevitable and constant. It took me two hours before I found the trail to be secure enough to walk with my camera hanging around my neck and not worry about my tumbling and landing on it. I was cold, exhausted, and thirsty, yet I had been having the most fun in the entirety of my life.

I took a quick water break and pushed forward another hour, kicking my way through piles of freshly laid snow until ultimately being met with yet another unrealistic spectacle that mother nature herself had hidden away within the confines of her mountains. I froze and stood gazing in amazement as I took it all in. The very chill that ran up my spine as I breathed deeply through my nostrils is still imprinted in my memory today. The sound of a few distant roaring waterfalls complemented the scents of wet pine trees and earth very well as the sight of my dreams sat directly in front of me. I took my pictures, strapped into my backpack, and hurried towards the first waterfall.

There it is. The first waterfall. I tasted the crisp mist as it rose off of the rocks lying at the bottom of which it cascaded upon. It was truly a landscape to behold and take a much-needed break at. My muscles ached as I hydrated but all the sensation that the thrill of exploration had brought into my very being silenced whatever resistance my body was trying to show me. I walked to the edge and peered over it and saw at least 200+ feet between myself and the ground. I hung my legs over the edge and thought of absolutely nothing as I watched the movie that life was playing for me. Time passed and eventually, I had to move on from this beloved position to continue onward throughout a frozen Yosemite.

“The sound of a few distant roaring waterfalls complemented the scents of wet pine trees and earth very well as the sight of my dreams sat directly in front of me.”

Anthony Monterroza

After enjoying the moment messing around in the snow and fooling around in the icy water I dragged on up the mountain that sat behind the first waterfall. At this point exhausted and carrying less than half the water I had started with, I found myself taking more and more breaks as I climbed. I had arrived at the top probably no more than 90 minutes later to a little clearing with a shack that sat at the top and a sign to the right of it with multiple distances to different viewpoints of the park etched onto the surface. I know Half Dome was less than 5 miles away but can not remember the exact distance. I could only recall seeing that “Little Yosemite” was 1.2 miles away. I then turned from the sign and went forth towards the top of a waterfall that poured into and fed the first one. I walked until the path had ended seeing nothing but deeply layered snow in front of me and decided to go further anyways seeing the views tease me just around the corner. I took one step, bam, my leg instantly sank a good three feet deep into the white abyss and cold snow started to fill my boot. I shrugged it off and repeated with my other leg. Forty-three icy leaps later and I came to a little bridge that sat at the top of the falls. I leaned over and spent the next five minutes puking from exhaustion. Shaking, I picked up my camera and took some photos then sat back and tried to enjoy the final view of this forever memorable hike as I hydrated and ate. Before me sat the entire valley of Yosemite, its snow-blanketed powdery mountains peered back at me as my mind seemed to welcome the vision with two arms wide open. I was dumbfounded in every sense of the word and proud that I had gotten so far on my first actual hike throughout Yosemite.

I packed my gear up and descended from the mountains spending every second of that walk remembering every smell, sound, detail, taste that I could. When I arrived at my car I got out of every piece of clothing I originally started in and changed into some shorts and a sweatshirt then hopped in and instantly cranked the heater. Twenty minutes of shivering and heating up my engine and I was finally good to go, ultimately ending my escapade with a heated car and month’s worth of adventure.

Anthony Monterroza was a lover of all things outdoors.

His proud and loving mother, Tina-Marie, shared this story that Anthony wrote when he was 20 years old, following his winter adventure in Yosemite in 2017, motivated by “his great passion for the great outdoors.” As she celebrates Anthony’s life together with family and friends on May 8th, 2021, she hopes that his writing and images will inspire more people from Latino communities to explore our beautiful world.