Although I grew up hiking, camping, and backpacking with my father, and began working as a camp counselor at a women-run backpacking camp by the age of sixteen, when I first entered the outdoor education field as my area of study in university and career, I faced a lot of doubt from my fellow, typically white, male, co-workers and bosses. This was extremely difficult for me, as my skills and competence had never been doubted before by my father or bosses who had been women. Feelings of not being good enough and foolish, hopeless even, began to bring me down as the negative external forces slowly crept their way into my mind.
Over time, although I was gaining experience, leading outdoor groups became more nerve wracking instead of less because of the pressure that was now present. I felt that a slip up not only reflected poorly upon myself and made me seem like a ‘silly woman’ who didn’t deserve to be working alongside my male colleagues, but also made all women attempting to gain esteem in the outdoor industry look silly. I didn’t want to misrepresent my entire gender.
Of course, I also had to face the fact that I didn’t quite blend into the whiteness of the industry. Because my heritage is split, half Latinx and half a mix of white, Jewish European, that until someone realizes my curly hair is not a ‘Jew fro’ but indeed a signal of my Latinx genetics, I am ‘white enough’ for them to say racist statements or offensive jokes in front of me. As a method of self preservation, I developed a desensitivity to problematic microaggressions about race and awful pronunciations of words in Spanish by the people around me. I felt I couldn’t speak out, correct their behavior or mispronunciations. I felt shrunken down, invisible, robbed of the empowerment my outdoors skills and knowledge had always provided for me, and undeserving of my leadership position.
“My job became more fulfilling than before, and my mental health and self-confidence recovered”.
Sonya Pendrey
So what did I do? I accepted a job at an outdoor education afterschool program run by a woman who, although she was white, spoke fluent Spanish. She also provided enough financial aid to anyone who applied to her program for them to attend, to the best of her ability. This made her program the most racially diverse in the area. My job became more fulfilling than before, and my mental health and self-confidence recovered.
I will leave you with this: if you see a problem in the industry in which you are working, do not remain compliant! Look for job opportunities that uphold the same values as yourself and dedicate your time and effort to helping them succeed.
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.
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!
