Rediscovering the nature around us

por Maria Baron Palamar

During our previous normal, you know, like a hundred years ago (it feels that long to me), I took advantage of evenings and nights to walk in the neighborhood with the dogs. I would walk 3 miles almost every night and I would hardly see anyone outside. This was a walk for exercise, but also for thinking, meditating and, depending on the evening, for grounding and letting go the stressors of the day. I would smell the scent of new flowers, hear the frogs sing, and see the fireflies call to each other in the night. I would encounter foxes and deer and owls, and I always ended up feeling incredibly thankful for these moments of communion with nature.

In that previous life I would find sanctuary while walking or, during the day, while visiting a little nature preserve we have in our neighborhood. It’s a peaceful little place, with a babbling creek running through it and lots of trees to make you forget you are right next to a city. During my outdoor adventures, I would hardly see anyone else. Even on weekends, when I visited the nature preserve with my kids, I could let the dogs off the leash because we were the only ones there.

That solitude in nature is a thing of the past; the streets, the nature preserve, and even the state parks within biking distance of our home are now being explored by neighbors from close and far.

It seems as if people realized they can literally walk out their front door and enjoy the beauty and healing properties of nature every day, at any time of the day. All of the sudden I see many other children playing in the creek, families strolling down the streets and lots of cars and bikes parked at the entrance of the parks. I am not advocating for not following social distancing guidelines, nor for irresponsibly impacting the natural areas around us, but I am delighted by the connection I am seeing, a connection between people and the land they inhabit. My social media feed is filled with pictures of flowers, insects and little snakes people are encountering on their excursions. Friends send me messages with pictures of critters asking what they are; “science twitter” is exploding with images of birds, reptiles, amphibians and plants, and people are sharing, asking, learning, and admiring the “nature” around us. Mind you, most of these encounters are happening close to home, no need to go to the Alaskan wilderness, just the backyard, or the little stand of trees in the corner.

“I am delighted by the connection I am seeing, a connection between people and the land they inhabit”.

Maria Baron Palamar

My heart feels full when I see people becoming aware of the natural world around them, connecting with nature. I see people noticing the intricate and complex patterns that make nature amazing, and later falling in love with it, craving it more and more. At night, I anxiously imagine the reality of those that live in places with no easy access to nature and my heart becomes heavy with the disparity in opportunities, the injustice of it all pushing me to think about what I could do better to ensure nature is something that we can all experience.

I have been an advocate of getting outside for a while now, you can see it in my work and my other blogs. I am certain people experience psychological and health benefits when spending time in green areas on a regular basis; I have experienced these benefits myself. I hope this rediscovering of nature people are experiencing now, brings them closer to it and helps them prioritize access to nature when thinking of city planning and resource allocation. I hope we all remember the role nature played in our lives during these uncertain times when we go back to the rat race, to the crazy schedule, to overloading our children with organized activities that leave little room for exploration and connection. I hope we remember the value nature had for us during this global emergency when the next parking lot, the next shopping center, the next mega store wants to turn that empty lot, today full of butterflies and flowers, into yet another block of cement.

I think many of us are building a relationship with nature that will stay with us once this is over, one that will propel us into thinking of a new normal, where time outside and connecting to the places and wildlife around us becomes a priority, an intrinsically valuable part of our lives. I hope for a new normal, where access to nature becomes a requirement of any new development, and restoration of the green spaces we have abused for so long in urban settings becomes a prime concern when we look at how to make this a more equitable and just world.

Nature is here for us in our time of need, cradling us through the fear, uncertainty, and loss. She is everywhere, from the pot in our window, to the park in the corner, to the remote arctic wilderness.

Nature is part of us and we are part of her. Let’s not forget this in her time of need.

Maria is a wildlife veterinarian turned social scientist. After working directly with wildlife (her first passion), she started a company in 2018 and now works connecting people to nature and to each other (her second passion), with an emphasis on making access to nature equitable and sustainable. She loves traveling, exploring nature and making things. She also loves wildlife, watching it, touching it, and even poking it when scientifically necessary.


Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month

por Maritza Oropeza

Fifty-two years have passed since we began celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. Hispanics play a vital role in our society that is sometimes forgotten, overlooked, or ignored. Whether you identify as Hispanic, Latino, Chicano or Latinx, know that this is your month to celebrate the people who paved the way. I come from a family of migrant workers, housekeepers, cooks, and factory workers. The jobs you say to yourself “I’m glad that’s not me”. As a fourth-generation Chicana, I can’t comprehend the struggle of leaving my homeland in search of a better life. My great grandparents, Ama and Apa, were migrant workers who worked everywhere from Minnesota to Arizona and picked everything from strawberries to cotton. Eventually, settling in Oceano, California. This drive to sacrifice comfort and security in favor of working for a better future is shared by all our brothers and sisters. We must recognize this in ourselves and continue the push for a better future whether or not we’ll live to see it.

“It’s up to our generation to continue their legacy and fight for our ancestor’s rights”.

Maritza Oropeza

Amidst a global pandemic, the nation’s most marginalized populations are being asked to work. Farmworkers already face one of the most dangerous jobs in the nation, with heat exhaustion, pesticide exposure, and the threat of wildfires. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta paved the way with their commitment to non-violence and spirituality that changed a nation with the United Farm Workers of America. It’s up to our generation to continue their legacy and fight for our ancestor’s rights. Farmworkers deserve this prestigious recognition along with respect and appreciation for feeding us every day.

Support brown businesses, fill out your census, and register to vote. Yo Cuento!


For our Children…forever.

por Gustavo (Gus) Martínez

The mission of the National Park Service is perhaps one of the most noble statements memorialized in law “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations”.

For over thirty years I have supported this mission and devoted my career to ensuring that these words translated into real action. Working in the Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services (LESES) program the focus was on public safety; Law Enforcement, Fire, Emergency Medical Services, Search and Rescue. My career took me to various stunning locations from the Santa Monica Mountains, the granite walls of Yosemite, the shores of Point Reyes National Seashore, the border lands of Big Bend and the barrier Islands of Padre Island. Eventually (at the urging of my wife Sylvia) we made it to Alaska at Glacier Bay. We returned to Yosemite for my final assignment as the Deputy Chief Ranger of LESES, were I reached the mandatory retirement age for emergency services. Now, I have since returned to Glacier Bay as the Safety, Health and Wellness officer for Southeast Alaska.

Gus and YLP Cohort. Photo by Sylvia Martínez

I was fortunate that there were teachers, mentors and counselors that helped me on my path. My high school biology teacher sparked my interest in ecology and camping. I studied with Dr. Roderick Nash at the University of California, Santa Barbara who helped me see my place in wilderness and how I can protect it. The Religious Studies courses with Dr. Inés Talamantez introduced me to the spiritual ways that Native American people revere the land and created in my young mind a new appreciation for open spaces and a sense of belonging. My career counselors guided me on my first opportunity to work with the National Park Service at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Outer Coast Grizzly. Photo by Sylvia Martínez

The National Park Service (NPS), then and now, struggles with becoming a true reflection of the demographics of this country. I was part of a cohort of students of color that were recruited in attempt to diversify the NPS. This led to what I now know as “micro-aggressions” directed at me from other NPS employees that saw me as competition for a coveted position which I was “taking” from them. Yet, there were other employees that supported the idea of diversity in the workplace and supported and mentored me early in my career. They understood that my success was an asset to the National Park Service. I was a hard worker and an eager learner, having grown up working in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, I had a strong work ethic.

Gus y Sylvia at Yosemite National Park. Photo by Sylvia Martínez

“They understood that my success was an asset to the National Park Service. I was a hard worker and an eager learner, having grown up working in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, I had a strong work ethic”.

Gus Martínez

Now, change is happening to the National Park Service. I would like to think that I have had a small part in this. I made the effort to outreach and share the mission of the National Park Service with people underserved communities. My efforts were mostly focused on bringing school groups and Police Explorer posts to the public lands I worked at. As I took on leadership roles in the agency, I challenged the supervisors that worked with me to be creative and use different hiring authorities to bring in more people of color to diversify our workforce. I started groups and events to create a sense of community and belonging. At Yosemite National Park I became actively involved in mentoring the students that participated in the U.C. Merced Yosemite Leadership Program. There has been some success, but the key is getting people of color to feel they are also a part of this mission of conservation and preservation.

I see groups like Latino Outdoors and Outdoor Afro as the link that was missing in my efforts. Recently, during Latino Conservation week I was gratified to see so many fellow Latino NPS staff post their pictures, proudly wearing the “grey and green” of the National Park Service. Thirty years ago, I couldn’t imagine seeing so many diverse, young, excited people working to advance the mission of the National Park Service. As my adopted Native brethren, the Huna Tlingit of Alaska, say “Haa Yatxee Jeeyis Aya, For our Children Forever”.