Backpacking Comida: Chicken Fajitas Burrito Bowl

We get inquires about camping and backpacking meals that our Latino community are familiar with but its a little difficult to reproduce home cooked meals that mamá might make in the backcountry.  Still this is a great backpacking recipe that LO Regional Coordinator and avid backpacker, Eduardo Gonzalez has learned through his wilderness leadership training with the Bay Area Wilderness Training.  It’s a rather simple and incorporates fresh ingredients and the best part when it comes to serving and clean up.

ChickeFajitasBurritoBowl

Ingredients:

  • Instant Rice
  • Dehydrated beans (see note)
  • Bell peppers
  • Red onion
  • Cheese
  • Large tortillas/wraps
  • Fajita spice mix
  • Canned chicken (strange, yes, but much like tuna and optional)
  • Lettuce and tomato for garnish

NOTE: Dehydrated beans are the way to go, light weight without the water content. If you have had trouble finding them in stores (check Mexican supermarkets), you can also find them online- Mexicali Rose Instant Refried Beans.

Fajitas Skillet Setup

Directions: 

  1. In one pan, throw ingredients in a pan with a little oil or water, cover and allow veggies to reach desired texture. Adding spice mix and stir.
  2. Heat the canned chicken in a separate pan. Vegetarian option – no canned chicken.  It is less intimidating to have canned chicken if it is incorporated with the veggies.
  3. In another pot, boil some water. Use instant rice that comes in pouches. Submerge rice packets until cooked, then place in serving bowl. Use the same water to rehydrate the refried beans within the pot.
  4. Place the tortilla in your bowl, add the things you like and top with lettuce and cheese. Eat with fork, when done, eat the tortilla and no dishes to clean but pots and forks.

LO Regional Coordinator Melissa Avery: My two cents is that this sounds delicious! I like some spicy kick to my food, so take I’d take my favorite hot sauce with me.  Tapatio, Cholula, homemade stuff whatever it is make sure it is in a sandwhich bag and then in a freezer bag to prevent spills.

Melissa is a LO Regional Coordinator for the San Francisco Bay Area where she works to partner with organizations and facilitate outdoor activities with families and youth students.  She also is a youth leader at her local church and an outdoor family blogger at Chasqui Mom, where she writes about her personal outdoor family adventures. 

Lessons from China Camp State Park

Earth Day Hike / Caminata dia de la Tierra
Blog and photos by Maribel Sierra, Latino Outdoors Ambassador – SF Bay Area 

IMG_4703Latino Outdoors group at China Camp State Park.

This year marks the 45-year anniversary of Earth Day, which was first celebrated in 1970 during the start of the environmental movement. Since then, awareness of environmental issues has spread all over the world with over 5,000 groups in 184 countries. On April 19th, in appreciation and celebration of Earth Day, our Latino Outdoors volunteer staff and participants in the Bay Area, including myself and Alicia Cruz, met up with the Marin County Parks and California State Parks staff for morning hike at China Camp State Park. This naturalist led expedition was a great opportunity to learn about the unique salt marsh ecosystem and natural history. To me, this was yet another chance to build a connection to the earth.

Located on the shore of the San Pablo Bay, China Camp State Park is named for a historic Chinese-American settlement and is surrounded by stunning views of the bay. One thing our group noticed right away at the trailhead was the prevalence of purple flowers on the fields. Those purple flowers turned out to be wooly vetch, a member of the pea family and a nitrogen fixer, a plant that turns an otherwise unusable form of nitrogen into a form that plants can easily use to grow. A member of group, Rosio, also noted the wild oats, or avena, in the field which reminded her of the fields and hills of Peru.

IMG_4675Wooly vetch (Vicia villosa) is a nitrogen fixer and very widespread in this field.

IMG_4676 A close up of Wooly vetch (Vicia villosa).

We continued trekking along the path to reach the salt marsh marked by channels of water and plants. Our guide from Marin County Parks, David, explained that salt marshes are where fresh and salt water mix. The changing tides bring in nutrients needed for plant growth and ultimately feed fish and other organisms. Amazingly, all of this activity makes the salt marsh one of the most productive ecosystems on earth!

IMG_4678Salt marshes bring in an abundance of nutrients needed for plant growth.

Some of the species that we encountered on the hike included:

  • Coastal live oak, the most common tree in Marin County
  • Manzanita (Spanish for little apple) tree
  • Madron tree
  • Western fence lizard
  • Ground iris
  • Oyster mushroom
  • Deer
  • White larkspur

More photos on Latino Outdoors Facebook page albums>> “Earth Day Hike” 

Despite the productivity of this ecosystem, rising sea levels and other impacts from climate change, are becoming a concern to park rangers, researchers, as well as the general public. As a result of California’s drought, some species have declined while drought tolerant plants and other invasive species have flourished. Researchers continue to spend time in regions like China Camp State Park to monitor species, changing sea levels, and salinity. As park visitors we have a responsibility to respect and help advocate for the conservation of these natural areas not only on Earth Day but everyday.

IMG_4713Marin County, California State Park staff, and Latino Outdoors volunteer staff.

How to be a Latino Outdoors Trailblazer and Make a Career

Authors: Maria F. “Masi” Mejia and Cynthia Espinosa Marrero

 As Latinos continue to grow demographically, we are reaching new heights not only outdoors but also indoors. In her Study, Taylor (2004), stated that “ethnic minorities are severely underrepresented in the environmental workforce” (p. 4).  This quote can serve as a statement that representation of minorities is needed in the environmental workforce. By acquiring an environmental-related degree, Latinos are becoming part of the environmental movement, workforce and applying their cultural knowledge which is crucial. We, at Latino Outdoors, have been able to turn our experiences in the outdoors into higher education and ultimately careers and so can you! 

Some of us connected to the land at an early age and some of us at a later age, by camping, hiking, hunting, gardening, amongst other recreational activities. These various experiences exposed us to education and career opportunities that are possible in the outdoors. The possibilities are endless! To become a successful outdoor professional from a park ranger to wildlife veterinarian, one must pursue education from a high school diploma to a Doctor in Philosophy. Education should never cease, as it is something that no one can ever take away from you.

Maria F. "Masi" Mejia, pursuing a Master of Science at Texas Tech University in Wildlife, Aquatic, and Wildlands Science and Management.

Maria F. “Masi” Mejia, pursuing a Master of Science at Texas Tech
University in Wildlife, Aquatic, and Wildlands Science and Management.

Cynthia Espinosa Marrero, pursuing a Masters of Science at Antioch University New England in Environmental Studies concentrating in Environmental Education.

Cynthia Espinosa Marrero, pursuing a Masters of Science at Antioch University New England in Environmental Studies concentrating in Environmental Education.

 There are lots of opportunities available to students who are interested in careers in the outdoors.  We have compiled a list to help make any individual interested in pursuing a career in the field of natural resource management and recreation successful:

High School

For individuals entering high school or in their teens, it is important to Get Outside! When you get outside you connect with other outdoor professionals and enthusiasts. During these outdoors experiences, it is at this moment that you should ask as many questions as you can. Asking professionals and outdoor enthusiasts how they got to where they are can show you just how diverse people are. The classes that you engage more in high school will add more knowledge and experience! Don’t forget to take your ACT or SAT during your junior or senior year of high school. These academic placements tests, along with other qualifications are needed to enter a higher education institution to pursue an undergraduate degree in something you love.

Undergraduate Degrees

Undergraduate degrees in this field include environmental education, conservation biology, wildlife management, outdoors recreation, natural resource management, advocacy and social justice, sustainable development…the possibilities are endless! Degrees in other fields can also be applied to this field such as accounting and marketing, as they are essential to environmental organizations and agencies. Generally speaking, there are two types of undergraduate degrees. A Bachelors of Arts is a degree that focuses more on liberal arts classes related to the career field. A Bachelors of Science is a degree that focuses more scientific classes related to the career field. Both types of degrees are extremely valuable to natural resource management and recreation. You might want to ask yourself what job you envision yourself doing. A bachelor of science might be more valuable if you want to become a wildlife biologist. A bachelor of arts might be more valuable if you want to become involved in advocacy and social justice.

Graduate Degrees

The thirst for knowledge should never end. As an individual you should always continue to learn whether it is informally or formally. Graduate degrees in this field include Masters of Arts, Masters of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. The differences in masters of arts and masters of science is similar to above. Typically a Master’s degree takes about 2-3 years to complete. An individual takes classes while working on research related to the field of natural resource management and recreation. A Doctor of Philosophy degree is next degree to pursue in higher education. A doctoral degree can take about 3-5 years to complete depending on the research.

A degree in higher education regardless of bachelors, masters, or doctor of philosophy means greater career opportunities in the environmental field!

As Latinos we should strive not only to pursue higher education, but to pursue higher education in career fields we love. For those of us who were able to connect the outdoors to a career we love, we are leaders of tomorrow.


Be sure to reach out to reach out to either of the authors listed above or your regional Latino Outdoors Ambassador to find out how your love of the outdoors can lead to a career!

 

References:

Taylor, D. (2004). Diversity and the Environment: Myth-Making and the Status of Minorities in the Field. Equity and the Environment. Research and Social Problems and Public Policy, Volume 15. pp. 89-147.