Yessenia Mendez is an invasive species fellow at John Heinz NWR at Tinicum in Philadelphia, PA. She is managing invasive species with the bio-team to improve the refuge’s natural diversity and integrity. The Bio team has caught over 1,200 Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Northern Snakehead (Channa argus) this summer. Yessenia conducts an invasive species survey using ArcGIS and assists in spraying herbicide around the refuge. She replaces invasive species with native plants such as beardstongue and goldenrod in pollinator gardens. “I believe our team’s dedication to improving biodiversity aids in improving conditions for native and migrating pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, as well as other wildlife”- Yessenia Mendez

I’ll be raw with you for a moment. This past fall was a hard one for me. It’s the season of change, and my life certainly did change. The friends I had made moved on, my life outside of work was difficult to discuss– I was actively grieving, and my coworkers were left to worry about me. 

I’ve learned some things about myself throughout this cold season. I’m surviving. I get myself out of bed every morning. I show up. I smile. I feed myself. I go home only to reset and start all over again. The thing with surviving is that it’s not always living. Adrenaline is really something incredible when you need it. I think the adrenaline my fight-or-flight body has made is all used up. My muscles ache. I’m chronically exhausted. My dreams show me loved ones who are no longer in my life. 

The position I have now has been helping me to not feel swallowed by my surrounding dysfunction. I’m a young biologist in training. What’s the saying?— “life imitates nature”? Nature can be brutal, but that's just how things go. The other day I found a hawk de-plumed and  freshly killed by another hawk. I was shocked, but not surprised. That’s just how things go. 

Sure, nature can be brutal, but it’s also incredible and teaches us so many things about ourselves. It taught me that life truly does go on. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’m not just throwing clichés out there–I really mean it.

My family came to the United States from Nicaragua in the 80’s. Being an only child has its perks, but it also means the weight of becoming someone great is 10 times heavier, especially as a first generation kid. The thing with that is, my mom never pressured me to be someone I was not. If I said I wanted to pursue something, she’d back me up and find a way for that to happen. 

My grandmother, on the other hand, never understood what I did for a living. I’d always try to tell her that I was happy, but to her, working outside was associated with negative thoughts and feelings. I didn’t have her support. Instead she would tell me to get a job at a bank, where women should be. Outside jobs were for men only according to her, “Eso es para varones,” she would say.

I decided to give her one more try. One more explanation about what I do, why I do it, and why I’m happy. Due to some miracle, she understood what I had been trying to tell her my entire life. For the first time in years, she saw me for who I was. She was proud of what I was doing. She listened and heard my voice. 

I wonder how many first generation biologists are going through the same thing I am. Is the want and need to make your family proud as strong as mine? Do you also feel like you're breaking generational burdens and outdated views by disregarding the stereotype of what a Hispanic woman “should” be doing? Does your family also not understand what you do? Are they recommending you a job in banking too? I have so many questions and I wish I could get answers to them. 

To be quite honest I have rarely interacted with other first gen Latinx naturalists. When I do, I feel like there’s an unspoken understanding between us. I get it though– biology isn’t easy to sustain yourself on. It pays very little when you first start out. I don’t necessarily come from generational wealth in the United States. I find that a lot of my first generation friends don’t either. We’re paving the way on our own. We’re fighting twice as hard to get to where we are now.

I’m proud of who I am becoming, but sometimes that fight or flight kicks in. I forget to live in the moment and enjoy who I am right now. I’m surviving, but I want to remember to live, and live fully. I can’t rely on adrenaline forever. I’m ready to talk about it. I am ready to talk about how I’ve been feeling, how I feel like there’s got to be a reason for my existence. Living doesn't have to be this big elaborate thing. It starts with our outlook on life and how much kindness we show ourselves daily. I’m blessed to see another day, see another tree, eat another meal. I’ve learned to appreciate change, not all change is bad after all. 

Yes, I’ve been hit pretty hard by life recently, but I’m surrounded by incredible support. I could’ve given up, taken that bank job my abuela insisted on, but instead I chose to fight. I chose to make an effort for myself and for the others that I represent. It’s not easy at all. Some days take a lot more effort than others. But that’s the beauty of living I suppose. You’re going to have good and bad days, but never a bad life. 

Those T-shirts aren’t lying, life really is good. I can’t complain. I’m still going through the process of grieving, but seeing how everything settles over time is the kindest thing I can do for myself. I want to help make the planet a better place, whether that’s through keeping a certain species alive, or just putting a smile on someone’s face. It’s important to me that I leave this place a little better than I found it. 

I hope that my message encourages you to keep pushing. I’m rooting for you every step of the way! In case you haven’t heard this today, I'm proud of you. Keep doing great things. Be kind to yourself, everyone starts somewhere.

John Heinz NWR has a team of education specialists who connect with the local schools in Southwest Philadelphia. If they aren’t going into the classrooms to teach a lesson about biology, nature, and wildlife, the students are at the refuge discovering and learning in a hands-on environment. 

Nearly every Tuesday, I get the honor of working with Mrs. Thompson’s fourth grade class at John M. Patterson School. This group of students are the most excited and curious little naturalists I’ve seen in a while. If they aren’t doing an experiment with the Rangers, they’re at the refuge exploring, identifying birds and macroinvertebrates, and enjoying a picnic at lunch time next to the water. 

At the end of the day, we award a naturalist of the week, commending a student for their curiosity, mindfulness, and peaceful spirit. It’s always so hard to choose only one student, as they're all so excited and curious about what the forest has to offer. If I could give all of them the title, I would! It’s good motivation for the class to continue to ask questions, participate in our activities, and get the most out of their visit to the refuge or in the classroom. 

Friends of Heinz, a nonprofit that helps to support FWS, has given the class a budget of $400 to do any project they want to help nature in some way. They currently completed the last stages of voting for their favorite project out of three options they came up with together. Some of the options included helping to reduce pollution or teaching the public about respecting nature. They voted on removing trash and pollution from their neighborhood. I'm excited to see what these young nature enthusiasts do as their project develops! 

Working with the community is always rewarding, but it’s especially rewarding to bring these kids out of the city and into a greenspace where they can use all of their senses freely to explore. I remember feeling the most grounded as a school student when I was outdoors. It helped to ease my mind, learn about how interconnected we are to this earth, and the importance nature held. Those moments outdoors led me to where I am now, having the forest as my office.

I think representation in the service is so important, especially at schools surrounded by ethnically diverse communities. In Mrs. Thompson's class, there is one Guatemalan student whose first language is Spanish. He speaks great English, but being able to converse with me in Spanish has brought out so much life in him. He mentioned to me that he feels like no one understands him and it can be hard for him to articulate his feelings sometimes. Needless to say, he participates all the time in class. He raises his hand, gets excited to share his opinions and thoughts on the projects we do with the class, and always participates. If he doesn’t know the word for something, I’m more than happy to help him out. It’s moments like these where I feel fulfilled and know I’m making a positive impact on these students. It’s encouraging to hear these students verbalize that they like what we do, and want to be a biologist like us one day too.

Hello everyone! 

At the start of my career, I was uninterested in the idea of hunting. It wasn’t until I learned how well conservation and hunting complemented each other. White tailed deer are extremely over populated in Pennsylvania, which lead to road collisions, close contact with disease, and overgrazing of natural habitat. In order to combat this at our refuge, John Heinz NWR, we offer a mentored deer hunt program. First time and beginner hunters are selected through a lottery system, paired with an experienced hunter, and taught how to ethically hunt a deer with a crossbow. 

I was surprised to see how successful the first hunt went. We had harvested around 6 deer in 3 days! I was even fortunate enough to field dress one of the deer! The second hunt harvested only one deer, but it was a proud moment to hear that one of our youths in the program was the one to do so. 

Hunting for deer is a good way to keep the population down, give families substantial food to eat, and keep hunters connected with nature. I think this specific hunt program is so special because it’s not often that someone who lives in the city of Philadelphia can go out and hunt a deer in the woods. The benefit of being so close to the city is that we have such a diverse group of hunters! I feel like the hunting demographic typically weighs heavy on the spectrum of white males. It was great to see people of all backgrounds, ages, and genders join in on this special program. In a way, I feel like this program is reformative, breaking barriers and stereotypes of what a hunter should be or look like. It’s incredibly inspiring to be able to witness this first hand, and I'm proud to be a part of it! 

Saludos! This summer I had been working as an Invasive Species Fellow with American Conservation Experience at John Heinz NWS at Tinicum. This fall, I received the opportunity to extend my stay at John Heinz NWR with Hispanic Access Foundation.