As I navigate the last few days of my internship I started to reflect on the transformational experiences I had here. I want to highlight the most meaningful experiences through identity searching and conversations surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

From the beginning of my internship, I was thankfully introduced to who I consider a Mentor, Liliana Calderón who works for the Migratory Birds and Habitat Program. Liliana connected me to an interviewer from External Affairs who wanted to capture voices from the Latinx community for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month. During the interview I chose the questions I wanted to talk about: “How does your cultural background inform your perspective on the outdoors and wildlife conservation?” and “What is a barrier to outdoor access in your cultural community?”. 

These questions made me think deeper about my identity, and what better way of understanding than talking to my parents and their stories of growing up in Colombia and Guatemala. I picked up the phone to rediscover my parent’s childhood. It was amazing to hear how my parents spent their time outdoors. Little did I know my father grew up in Santiago Atitlán near mountains in Guatemala directly spending most of his time outdoors and learning from the indigenous people who have been there for centuries. My mother describes growing up in Barranquilla, Colombia, and found peace in the outdoors feeding wild red-footed tortoises. My parents experience made me realize that nature was never too far away. Nature means something completely different to me now learning about my cultural history. 

The second question led me to think about visible and invisible barriers that the Latinx and other historically excluded groups experience. Growing up in Miami the most obvious reasons were transportation issues. There were not many options to reach nationally known parks like the Everglades. Another issue is the idea of what experiencing the outdoors looks like such as hiking, and camping. These were activities I never grew up doing. Most recently I attended a “Daycation” event in a city park where a Latinx family described feelings of inadequacy because they cannot afford camping gear. Others found out about their neighborhood park through this event with no prior knowledge about this natural space. I have heard the same thought processes before from my own family. We need to be including historically excluded communities in the conversation and ask questions of their thoughts if their willing to express them. Basing educational programming on community wants and needs is what I envision as the future of conservation. 

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Location: Portland Regional Office

During my internship, I had the opportunity to visit and learn about the National Wildlife Refuges across the Portland-Vancouver area. Before this internship, I didn’t understand what the differences are between parks. What made National Wildlife Refuges different? Refuges are protected areas managed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These areas support the conservation of flora and fauna. The first refuge to open was Pelican Island National Refuge in 1903. There are now 567 National Wildlife Refuges. Urban Wildlife Refuges are a smaller subset of the larger refuges. Urban Wildlife Refuges are located nearby cities across the U.S. 

The first refuge I visited was the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. This urban wildlife refuge is located on the outskirts of Portland, OR. The refuge is home to a diversity of species within the park. I learned about the projects to help restore the floodplain. One of these projects was restoring part of Chicken creek: a seven-year project that came to full term this year. This sparked a larger conversation about what the goal of the refuge was when it opened in 1992, which was mainly to protect waterfowl. The shifting views of conservation through the years to the present time is now a habitat restorative effort. Some of these restorative efforts were participating in the collection and dispersal of plant species. We collected Golden Paintbrush and dispersed Wapato seeds in the wetland areas around the refuge. 

Pictures from Tualatin River NWR:

Our next trip was across the border into Washington to visit Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. The history of the Refuge intrigued me the most. The refuge is in the Cathlapotle Village home of the Chinook people. Cathlapotle Village was one of the only places still standing that endured flooding, and development. USFWS has a partnership with the Chinook Tribe. This partnership resulted in the making of the Plankhouse. A Plankhouse is a housing structure made of cedar built by indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest used for community and ceremonial practices. This outing helped me understand the cultural significance of the refuge. 

Photo Credit: Friends of the Ridgefield NWR

We traveled to the Columbia River Gorge in southwest Washington to visit Pierce National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is 300 acres of wetland and upland habitat that face Beacon Rock. We were guided on a walk with Jared, a Friends of the Refuge staff knowledgeable about the area. I learned about Hardy Creek being a critical habitat for the Chum salmon on the Columbia River. There are also restorative efforts made to remove invasive blackberries that have occupied a large amount of the refuge. The refuge is also home to endangered western pond turtles. These turtles will winter in higher elevations and can travel up to 1,500 feet from aquatic habitat (Natural history (biologicaldiversity.org)). This area has a diversity of wildlife, even small refuges have a big impact. 

Pictures from Pierce NWR:

The lessons I've learned from visiting these three refuges show that city wildlife, cultural significance, and habitat restoration are great examples of what conservation should look like. We need more areas in conservation that focus on collaborative management of wild spaces, and integration with the community to help our communal home. 

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Location: Portland Regional Office

At the start of Hispanic/ Latinx Heritage month, I started to wonder what are the Hispanic cultural views on wildlife conservation. There are many well-known environmentalists such as Aldo Leopold, David Attenborough, and Rachel Carson. Growing up I didn’t see environmentalists that looked like me. This past week I looked into getting to know Hispanic/Latinx environmentalists. I was introduced to a plethora of people doing amazing work in Central and South America.

 Rodrigo Tot is a Guatemalan farmer and indigenous leader for the Q’eqchi’ people. In the 1960s as the mining industry grew nickel deposits were discovered on Q’eqchi’ land. The rivers became polluted and farms were less productive. Rodrigo noticed that the land ownership was turned to the mining industry. He collected information to prove indigenous ownership of these lands. In 2011 Rodrigo was able to restore property rights for the Q’eqchi’ people.

 Nemonte Nenquimo is an indigenous Waorani woman from Ecuador and co-founder of an indigenous-led nonprofit called Ceibo Alliance. Nemonte pushes to defend Waorani territory. The Waorani people are hunter harvesters and depend on the Amazon for their well-being. Oil companies have pushed the Woarani people into one-tenth of their original territory. The presence of oil companies have contributed to oil spills and degradation of the habitat. Nemonte started to document areas of the Waorani territory that have medicinal plants and sacred areas. Nemonte amplified the voices of her community in the media to reach the world. This work has been made possible to bring these issues to the forefront.

Libia Grueso is a Colombian social worker and co-founder of the Process of Black Communities (PCN). Libia fought for the rights of the Afro-Colombian community. Her efforts to push back against the government trying to displace the Buenaventura community. She strives to protect the Colombia Pacific Rainforest, a biodiversity hotspot from gold mining, and logging. She worked closely with people who lived along the Yurumanguí River to promote sustainable practices. Despite the dangers of being an outspoken activist, she seeks to preserve Afro-Colombian culture and the environment. 

These environmental stewards are great examples of people connecting with their community through listening and documenting to create progress. After researching I began to notice how environmentalism is closely tied to fighting for indigenous people. This idea that we are part of the land, and what we contribute will dictate the future of the planet. 

Sources:

2017 Goldman Environmental Prize, Guatemala

(866) Nemonte Nenquimo, 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize, Ecuador - YouTube

Libia Grueso advocates for Afro-Colombians and their land | Grist

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Location: Portland Regional Office

Technology is all around us nowadays, especially when it comes to phones. I find myself scrolling through lists of restaurants, new music, but what about the great outdoors?

Our phones can still connect us with the natural world. For example, there are great nature-centered applications that focus on the identification of flora, fauna, and fungi. I don’t see applications centered on family adventures in city parks. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has partnerships with organizations like Valadrian Creative. Valadrian Creative has developed an application called “NorthWest Family Daycation” to connect families with nature in Portland, OR.

Growing up in the big city of Miami, Florida there weren’t many options to visit natural areas without a car. The first time I visited the Everglades I was fifteen years old on a school trip. There were two barriers of access to nature that I faced. Public transportation, and the absence of natural parks. There were few bus stops in my neighborhood, that connected to downtown. This posed a problem for people who relied solely on public transportation. In the neighborhood I grew up in there were little to no trees in my suburban concrete jungle. The absence of natural parks created hot microclimates because of few trees, and wetlands. There was also no smartphone that could show accessible trails nearby.

NorthWest Family Daycation connects people with nature by showing parks nearby their neighborhood. The application pinpoints your GPS location and finds parks in your area. Certain parks have “Daycations”. Daycations provide activities for young families to participate in. Daycations such as “Ancient Trees & Dinosaurs” takes families on an adventure through time, connecting flora that has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. Parents can help their kids connect with nature that is engaging and fun for everyone. The project I’m working on during my internship is creating Daycations in underrepresented and low-income communities, so they don’t have to go very far to experience the outdoors. This project redefines what nature means to people. Experiencing the outdoors shouldn’t have to be strenuous hiking, it could be a walk in a city park. By helping the next generation connect with nature we can help promote the protection of the land.

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Location: Portland Regional Office

Veronica Cuyun is from Miami, FL. Her passion for wildlife started in her college years as a Zookeeper at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo. She interned and volunteered at Ashton Biological Preserve a non- profit focused on reptile conservation. During her time at both facilities, she participated in events and festivals to share her interests with others in the community. She furthered her education by attending the University of Florida where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. She has a passion for the natural world, and how to make the outdoors space inclusive for all.

Hello my name is Veronica Cuyun I’m a Conservation Community Champion with the Hispanic Access Foundation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. My first month working with the Urban Wildlife Refuge team has been very insightful. This internship is the first of its kind, so it gives me the opportunity to channel my creative side. During this internship I hope to help bridge the gap between the outdoors and underrepresented communities.  One way to do this is by interacting with your local community. My first week was a quick dive into community engagement at I’m Hooked Inc. I was excited to attend because I haven’t participated in events since the beginning of the pandemic.

During the event we played some animal trivia. One question that piqued interest of multiple groups was: “which salamander stays in its paedomorphic stage throughout its life?”. Most of the kids were shouting that they have seen this animal in the popular video game Minecraft. The animal they were thinking about was the Axolotl. Axolotls are critically endangered salamanders that occur in Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco in Mexico. Axolotl’s range is so small, but a game like Minecraft raised awareness to many people. This opened my eyes to how people can connect with nature through mediums you wouldn’t expect.

Technology has become a big part of the new generation. I have heard about nature deficit disorder, which is the idea that people are spending less time outdoors and more time on electronics. I believe we should be providing ways where people are drawn to the outdoors. One of these should be creating ways people can interact with nature through games or apps. The great outdoors should have an element of convenience that everyone can have access to.

This event taught me that engaging with the public is vital when it comes to listening to their interests and needs. How do we expect people to find passion in nature when they don’t have access to it? I’m really looking forward to more events that bridge the divide between nature and people.