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Author: Ruby Rodríguez

Latino Outdoors event connects families with Sonoma County’s open spaces

POMO CANYON — They left their warm beds, their electronic gadgetry and, in at least one case, a fear of snakes behind to brave a night outdoors — the call of nature overpowering the din of noisy, city life.

For some of the more than 60 participants — residents of the North Bay and nearby — the group campout in a redwood canyon near the Sonoma Coast was a first-time adventure. They learned to set up loaner tents and slept on the ground in borrowed bags.

Others had some limited experience with camping, fostering new family traditions from a desire to have their children learn about the world around them.

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Guidance and Insights for a Career as a Park Ranger ~ By Domenic Bravo

I remember we were on a Biology retreat in 6th grade at Beulah Mountain Park, and that’s when it happened. I almost fell into the pond while skimming the water with a net, but instead jumped ten feet from the dock to the bank.  One of my classmates said “Whoa you should be a park ranger or an action hero”.  Hmm…action hero…  After already enjoying the outdoors most of my life I knew early on that my career would be something related to the outdoors.  Believe it or not, in 8th grade I went and saw Cliffhanger in the movie theater.  This movie was another catalyst that leads me on the path that I am on.  Park ranger, rock climbing, snow and action heroes, what more could a person ask for.

On a trail ride for my Trail Program

On a trail ride for my Trail Program

After a little research on the different types of park ranger careers I realized I would have to focus on math and science.  Through high school, I took many different AP classes including AP Chemistry.  I knew I wanted to go to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado has many of the degrees related to the requirements of a Park Ranger career.  However, due to cost I ended up taking my first year and half at Southern Colorado University (which later became CSU-South) to get the general requirements done.  I then went to Colorado State University and after switching my major from Forestry to Natural Resource Management I graduated in 1999.  There are numerous programs out there for someone who would want to get into this field but I realized early on that having experience and knowledge in numerous topic best suited my overall career goals.

As I write this blog post for Latino Outdoors, I realize I’ve mentioned nothing of my Latino heritage, not because it isn’t important but mostly because it was a part of me already.  I was the first in my family to graduate with a four year degree and the first to complete my Masters, which seems to be the norm for our heritage.  Being Hispanic means something a little different to everyone in our culture.  To me family, culture and  pride were the cornerstones of my future successes.

During my undergraduate college years in Fort Collins, I first volunteered and then was hired as a seasonal for Lory State Park.  I was hooked on state parks after this experience.  I had originally thought I wanted to be a Federal Park Ranger, but after seeing what state parks folks accomplish on a day to day basis, I realized that is what I wanted to do.  For anyone that might want to pursue a career in this industry, I can’t stress the point enough of volunteering or working as a seasonal for a federal, state or local park.   First you gain experience second if you do a good job it may be your first step towards permanent employment.

After I graduated in December of 1999, my son was born on January 1, 2000, so I knew I needed to find a permanent position in my career of choice.  I ended up applying to several western state’s park systems and Nevada was the first to call and offer me a position.  I spent the next several years first working as a Park Ranger at a historic site and then as a Park Superintendent at a reservoir park.

My kids at Ames Monument one of my historic sites

My kids at Ames Monument one of my historic sites

During my Nevada State Park career, I made it my mission to be one of the most qualified state parks employees around.  I received my M.S from Slippery Rock University, became a certified Peace Officer and a Certified Public Manager. I am not sure it is advice, but I will say working on a Masters while working full-time and having a family is not the easiest thing in the world. During the next several years, I worked on every certificate that related to my job that I could find from EMT to Cave Rescue and everything in between.  The moral of the story is the jobs and promotions in this profession are competitive, so you need to have a competitive edge.  If you find training that relates to being a park person, take the training.

 Approximately two years into my park superintendent position one of my colleagues and I started a park ranger association.  We started to work on various topics at the state legislative level and I loved it.  I knew I wanted to run my own parks system.  I was very blessed to apply and be the successful choice as the Administrator for Wyoming State Parks.  The last seven years has been a whirlwind of learning and growth.  The last piece of advice I will give folks looking to pursue this as a career is to take calculated risk.  The old adage “you never know unless you try” is a must for this profession.  As a matter of fact, it may be the key to success.

Domenic Bravo is the State Park Director in Wyoming. He is also the incoming president for the National Association of State Park Directors and the first Hispanic president in its 50+ year history! You can contact Domenic at:domenic.bravo@wyo.gov

Timeline of Latino Farmer Movements in the U.S.

por Cynthia Espinosa

I had the honor this summer to work, grow, and be inspired by Soul Fire Farm located in Grafton, New York. Soul Fire Farm is a family farm committed to the dismantling of oppressive structures that misguide our food system. I was a co-facilitator for the 2015 Black and Latino Farmer Immersion Program (BLFI) which was an incredible experience for me as a Latina, food justice advocate, and educator.

BLFI Session 1 participants and facilitators. Photo by: Jonah Vitale-Wolff

BLFI Session 1 participants and facilitators. Photo by: Jonah Vitale-Wolff

BLFI Session 2

BLFI Session 2 participants and facilitators. Photo by: Jonah Vitale-Wolff

As a Latina Environmental Educator, I had the pleasure to research and learn about the Latino Farmer Movement and History in the United States. This information was gathered to teach two 1-hour sessions in conjunction with Leah Penniman, food justice educator and farmer at Soul Fire Farm. The class was titled: “Black and Latino Farmer Movements”. The information below is a small portion of the great historical presence Latino had and continue to have in the U.S. Food system. The information that has been gathered includes farmer movements and historical anecdotes that are related to Latinos and farmland.

Latino Farmer Movement  Timeline

1903: More than 1,200 Mexican and Japanese farm workers in Oxnard, California organized the first farm worker’s union called the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association (JMLA). “Later, it will be the first union to win a strike against the California agricultural industry” (Southern Poverty Law Center: Teaching Tolerance Project, n.d.).  

Source: United Food and Commercial Workers 324. (n.d.) 1903 Oxnard Beet Sows of Seeds of Diversity. Retrieved from: https://www.ufcw324.org/About_Us/Mission_and_History/Labor_History/1903_Oxnard_Beet_Sows_the_Seeds_of_Diversity/

Source: United Food and Commercial Workers 324. (n.d.) 1903 Oxnard Beet Sows of Seeds of Diversity.

1933: Possibly the largest agricultural strike called El Monte Strike, was led by Latino unions in California. The strike was lead to protest the declining wages rate for strawberry pickers. By May 1933, wages went down to nine cents an hour. Growers agreed to a settlement in July including a wage increase of twenty cents an hour or $1.50 for a nine-hour work day (Southern Poverty Law Center: Teaching Tolerance Project, n.d.).     

1942: The Bracero Program starts. This program was created by executive order to allow Mexican citizens to work temporarily in the United States. The work for the braceros were low-paying agricultural work. A total of 4.6 millions people signed the Bracero contract. The program ends in 1964 (Bracero History Archive, n.d.).

1950: Agreement Governing Employment of Puerto Rican Labor came into place to hire Puerto Ricans for season agricultural employment in the United States (Missouri Farm Labor Bulletin: Division of Employment Security, 1950).

1965: Cesar Chaves and Dolores Huertas funded the United Farm Workers Association (UFWA) in Delano, California. Huertas becomes the first woman to lead such a union. They joined a strike started by Filipino grape pickers in Delano. They organized the Grape boycott in the U.S. and Canada. The grape boycott became one of the most significant social justice movements for farm workers in the United States (Southern Poverty Law Center: Teaching Tolerance Project, n.d.).

1965: Luis Valdez, American playwright, actor, and film director, funded the world famous theater called “El Teatro Campesino”. El Teatro Campesino was the first farm workers theater in Delano, California. Actors entertained and educated farm workers about their rights (Southern Poverty Law Center: Teaching Tolerance Project, n.d.) 

Source: San Francisco State University. (2007). Cultivating creativity: The arts and the Farm Worker’s movement during the 60’s and 70’s. Retrieved from: http://www.library.sfsu.edu/exhibits/cultivating/intropages/teatrocampesino.html

Source: San Francisco State University. (2007). Cultivating creativity: The arts and the Farm Worker’s movement during the 60’s and 70’s.

1993: Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Immokalee, Florida comes to place to raise 1 cent per tomato pound for farm workers (Keshari et. al, 2014). The Coalition of Immokalee Workers successfully created the Fair Food Program which growers, buyers, and corporations signed up to raise one cent per pound. Other sections of the Fair Food Program include: industry-wide implementation of a 24-hour complaint hotline and rapid complaint investigation, worker-to-worker education on worker rights and responsibilities,  human rights-based Code of Conduct with enforcable zero tolerance policies for forced labor, child labor, violence, and sexual assault, and industry-wide monitoring of the Fair Food Program (Fair Food Standards Council, 2014).

1995: Acequia farmers in San Luis Valley in Colorado joined other local activists-driven organizations to oppose and successfully defeat corporations and mining companies. If not stopped, the corporations and companies would have redeveloped land in San Luis Valley. The major concern was land take over and contamination of water supplies. Acequia farmers also joined protestors to secure a ranch in San Luis Valley (Peña, 2005).

2006: The Great American Boycott took place by immigrants, including Latinos. The boycott was a protest against a legislative proposal which did not go to Congress, however, it was a high vote from the House of Representatives (The Library of Congress, 2005). The bill would have made residing illegally in the U.S. a felony and impose stiffer penalties on those who employed non-citizens. What stood out in the Great American Boycott was that some California’s politicians and religious institutions urge people to not partake in the boycott. Three major companies were supportive of the protestors. The first company was Cargill Meat Solutions which closed 5 U.S. beefs plants and two hogs plants. 15,000 workers from Cargill attended the boycott. The second company was Smithfield Food of Virginia who stated on their press release it will take time during the boycott to help employees write to U.S. Senators and representatives demanding change of immigration laws.The third company, Tyson Food, shutdown meatpacking plants to have workers attend the boycott (Lendon, 2006).

2009: After a dead tragedy of a farm worker in Burlington Vermont, the organization Migrant Justice- Justicia Migrante, comes to light to build the voice, capacity, and power of the farmworker community and engage community partners to organize for economic justice and human rights.  Migrant Justice-Justicia Migrante, has been working on building networks of farmer workers, farmers and allies to pass legislature in Vermont to provide access to licenses regardless of immigration status (Migrant Justice, 2014).

Source: Migrant Justice. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.migrantjustice.net/

Source: Migrant Justice. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.migrantjustice.net/

2014: Migrant Justice-Justicia Migrante created the Milk with Dignity! Campaign to improve the livelihoods of dairy farm workers and farmers by enlisting participating retailers to purchase and provide premiums to dairy farms that comply with Migrant Justice’s Milk with Dignity Code of Conduct. Migrant Justice-Justicia Migrante’s farm worker leaders have been engaged with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to learn their process in regards to the Fair Food Program (Migrant Justice, 2014).

References

Bracero History Archive (n.d.). About the Bracero Program. Retrieved from: http://  braceroarchive.org/about

Fair Food Standards Council. (2014). Fair Food Program Annual Report. Immokalee, FL: Justice Safer Espinoza. Retrieved from: http://www.fairfoodstandards.org/reports/ 14SOTP-Web.pdf

Keshari, S, Rawal, S, Longoria, E, and Fish, H. (Producers), & Rawal, S. (Director). (2014). Food Chains (Motion Picture). United States: Screen Media Films. 

Lendon, B. (2006, May 1). U.S. Prepares for ‘A day without an Immigrant’: Organizers plan massive boycott on Monday to stop business as usual. CNN. Retrieved from:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/28/boycott/index.html

Migrant Justice (2014). Milk with Dignity! Campaign. Retrieved from:

http://www.migrantjustice.net/milk-with-dignity

Migrant Justice (2014). Photo History Timeline. Retrieved from: http://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/2014-11%205%20anos%20de%20lucha%20%282%20paginas%29.pdf

Missouri Farm Labor Bulletin: Division of Employment Security. (1950). Recruitment of Puerto Rican Labor for Seasonal Agricultural Employment. (Bulletin No. 5). pp. 40-42  Retrieved from: https://www.vec.virginia.gov/vecportal/employer/pdf/ FarmPlacementHandbookPT2.pdf

Peña, D. (2005) Mexican Americans and the Environment: Tierra y vida. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. 

Southern Poverty Law Center: Teaching Tolerance Project. (n.d.). Latino Civil Rights Timeline, 1903-2006. Retrieved from: http://www.tolerance.org/latino-civil-rights-timeline.

The Library of Congress. (2005). Bill Text 109th Congress (2005-2006) H.R.4437.RFS. Retrieved from: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.4437.RFS: