Breaking the Myths and Stereotypes

Contributors: Vanessa Torres, Juan Martinez & CJ Goulding

Ever heard this statement, “people of color do not enjoy the outdoors,” kind of gets the blood boiling especially when it is a pretty well-known fact that we do.  Over the past week, a handful of articles pointed to the lack of diversity in the outdoors.  Newsflash! These articles are not new.  They, in fact, have been written and regurgitated over and over again for years.   

There is a lack of diversity in the organizations, leadership, and agencies overseeing the public lands and programs boosting outdoor participation.  Yes, the people that go to national parks make up approximately 82% of visitors are White.  It is tangible facts and hard numbers like those found in the Green 2.0 study by The Raben Group and a study initiated by the National Park Service, itself outlining the lack of diversity and recommendations to bridge that gap. We have the facts and numbers. Change becomes reality when words meet action. We could make the argument that today, more than any time in history, there are more groups, individuals, and initiatives aimed at introducing children and communities of diverse socioeconomic standing and background to the outdoors.  Yet, we hardly hear about the action that people are taking to change the diversity of outdoor engagement.   We don’t have a collective narrative, a rally cry, or a call to action.  How can we move forward, if all we continue to hear about are recommendations?    

As a community, you will run into two kinds of people 1) The “Megaphone" Leader and 2) The Action-Oriented Leader.   The Megaphone leaders are people who have an interest in diversifying the outdoors; they will talk and write about the issue.   The megaphone serves a purpose and the movement building would not be complete without this tool, however this type of leader can get caught in a one lane journey with a dead end leading to inaction.  Are these people important?  Absolutely; people need to continue to be made aware of the issue.  Although, as time goes on these people may lose their finesse.  The leadership they engage may grow weary of the same rhetoric, when the person touching on the issue only continues to talk about it without taking action. 

The Action-Oriented Leader is the person that not only can speak eloquently about the issue and need for a more diverse audience in greenspace but also takes action to make a difference.   Action can be anything from bringing people together through a grassroots method to spearheading an organization, working for an agency to sitting on a board of directors for an organization, even donating money and time to one of the above.    There is so much work going on across the country to bring together communities from all different backgrounds, to raise awareness that people of color do indeed embrace, utilize and enjoy the outdoors.   

These organizations and agencies can’t diversify the outdoors alone.  Despite the targeted affinity groups that the organizations and people in this effort represent, we continue to work together to bring awareness and engage people into their greenspace.   So why do we continue to hear that people of color do not embrace the outdoors?  Why do we continue to read articles or make presumptions that people of color do not have time or money to go outdoors?   

Let’s break down perceptions.  I don’t have all the answers but I can tell you from my experience what I do know.   As a society we have a pre-described definition of what is considered, “recreation.”   There is a certain way that one should recreate when they go outdoors – hiking, biking, fishing, etc.    Many people may not consider this recreation.   Recreation for many people may be going out on a Saturday to a local park and having a carne asada.  Do we count this as recreation when we do surveys?  Probably not.   Take a drive around the city any given weekend and I can guarantee there are folks of color out enjoying themselves with their sometimes, large family.    Do we count the family out taking their daughters Quincenera’s photos out in the park as people enjoying their time outside?    We as a society, as environmental advocates, have to stop defining what it means to recreate in the outdoors.    Yes, it is important in how we quantify success, but the definition has to be broad and inclusive of all activities.  

Money – “’They’ don’t have enough money or the time to go explore the outdoors.”   Yes, poverty is an issue… it is an issue that shows no discrimination.  From the poor White families in rural Appalachia to brown families living in a one bedroom apartment struggling to make ends meet in Los Angeles, poverty sees no color.    We cannot continue to use the excuse that we cannot “afford” to enjoy the outdoors.  With Latinos having a 5 Trillion dollar spending power and blacks, alone, having a 1 trillion dollar spending power, we have the money but WE choose on what that money goes to.  We prioritize what we want to spend money and time on.  A family struggling to make ends meet will save months to buy their kids the newest Jordan’s or save to take a trip to Disney World but won’t go out to a local park or to a national park.    Parks must be relevant to people, in order for them to engage, and many people of color do engage and enjoy the outdoors.

The story needs to change not for just one bracket of society but for the generation that will inherit this American Legacy. A future generation that looks more diverse, younger, and less connected with outdoors. It is not about drawing a nice and fluffy dream for tomorrow, but about the survival and relevancy of places that we all care about.  Check out the marketing campaigns of any major corporation looking to survive into the next quarter, they get it! We need to do the same for the future of outdoor recreation and public land stewardship. Meet our audience where they are; at school, at church, down the block, at the bar!

Our job, as outdoor advocates, is to continue to expose people to what is in their own backyard.  Not to enable but to empower. A hard truth about the work of any good cause is that, success, will come when that work is no longer needed. Visiting a park in a faraway place like Grand Teton, Yellowstone or Grand Canyon is amazing, but we first must learn what assets we have in our community.  Our message to go out and enjoy the outdoors has to make it where it is okay if a family can’t go out and visit a big grandiose park.   We have to be able to plant the seed and expose people to what exists, break down barriers to the larger, sometimes scarier places that we’ve never been.  As a group, as a family, we must continue to take action, break down barriers and expose people to the great outdoors.

Vanessa M. Torres grew up in a small town in South Central Texas as an outdoor advocate and fisherwoman.  Her love for nature started as a young girl, taking fishing and hunting trips with her father. Her love for nature was reignited after an internship with the National Park Service, where she spent three months in Alaska.  Vanessa is the newest board member for City Kids DC and continues to work to connect diverse communities to the outdoors through volunteering with a variety of organizations.

CJ Goulding grew up as one of those kids who was constantly exploring but never went to national parks. His introduction to the environmental world came with a weeklong immersion in Grand Teton National Park through the National Park Service and Student Conservation Association. Through that experience, he learned the importance of connecting to place, and has worked to connect people to the outdoors, whether that is working in their city parks, connecting to national parks across the country, or empowering other leaders to do the same. He is currently a grad student in Seattle studying Urban Environmental Education, seeking to empower urban communities and connect them to their environment.

Juan D. Martinez is a National Geographic Explorer, TED Speaker, and a proud product of south central Los Angeles.  Juan is C&NN’s Director of Leadership Development and the Natural Leaders Network. His passion to empower youth individuals led him to direct Sierra Club’s first environmental justice youth leadership academy in Los Angeles. Through the Natural Leaders Network Juan is working with strategic partners and grassroots leaders to empower the next generation of conservation and outdoor recreation leaders. Juan dedicates his energy on grassroots campaigns to empower, explore, and create positive change, he and his wife live in Los Angeles, CA.

Accolades, awards and everything in between

In 2006, I started my seasonal career in the park service.  When I became a permanent Park Guide in 2008, I quickly realized two things- I'd have to work twice as hard and be twice as accurate in my job to get any recognition beyond my supervisor.  It wasn't only because if the color of my skin but because of my uterus, my breast- being a woman.   Now the NPS has come a long way from the "good ol' boys" club, but they still have a long ways to go in regards to woman and diversity.

The second thing I realized is that there is a prime in your career that you'll get recognized by others that'll reap rewards and accolades.  That prime is when you're in the field, on the ground making instrumental change to the lives of others or leading research.   I've passed my prime, I worked six years in the field building programs to introduce youth and families of diverse background to a park in their own backyard.  I worked to build a program with a group of amazing partners to introduce students of diverse background to careers in the NPS.

Now, as a program manager in a regional office, I will not be recognized for the work I do, but let's be honest, budgets and writing policy and guidance don't get recognition. 😝.  I've passed my prime.

I didn't come into the NPS or continue my work to get accolades or awards of any sort, I came in to make a difference, "change lives" one person or group at a time.  I've worked with amazing, bright, up and coming youth whom, because of the experiences they've had in the programs I've built or helped build are on a path to working with NPS or making a difference in conservation today.   They are the now, our future, my legacy.

Yesterday, I met a young man who worked in my past park this summer.  He worked with a group of students of the program I developed there.  When I told him the work I had done in this park, his eyes lit up and he grabbed my hand and said, "thank you!  Working with those students, my first group of youth to work with, changed my life.  I've never met such a group of smart young people before!"  At that moment, that was my accolade, my recognition and award, that a program that I built is continuing to change the lives of young people across the country.

I write this, not to pat myself on the back, but to say to all those folks doing great work from the field, up to the halls of regional offices and Interior, our work makes a difference.  We continue to change lives and make instrumental change. We are needed. Keep fighting the good fight!

Sleeping giant

Sleeping Giant

Day in and day out, we turn on the news to hear about the most recent school shooting, stabbing on a metro platform or workplace violence.   A majority of times the story goes like this.... "We'll my [son, daughter, husband] was depressed or suicidal or was bullied" and that was their moment to snap.... A release of something bottled up far more than any person could understand, unless of course, you are one suffering from a mental illness- the sleeping giant.

Mental illness has long been a taboo in this country- back from when lobotomies were the norm and electric shock was just something that would hopefully make a person "normal".  Medicine has come a ways to bring us to where we are today and so many discoveries of the human mind have been made, yet so much remains a mystery.  Today, 26.2% or 1 in 4 Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness (National Institute of Mental Health).  This may include depression, ADHD, food disorder, anxiety, PTSD and even Autism, to name a few.

Fear remains in that many are afraid to speak out of their potential illness because of others reaction and the taboo that comes with it.  Facing the issues head on and speaking to someone is a must.  Recently, my father was admitted into the hospital due to suicidal ideations and hallucinations.  My dad has suffered many years as a diabetic, victim of two strokes and for the past four years dialysis.  I have watched a strong, stout man wither away to skin and bones, yet he has never lost his sense of humor.  His body is exhausted and his idea of a way out is to take his life, a decision that he has always seen as something cowardly to do.  The toll is not only on my dad but those who have suffered alongside him our entire lives- my brother, mom and I.  Only we, and those who are caretakers, know how good and bad life was as we stayed up late and made numerous runs in and out of hospitals.   You become numb the the hospitals, to the sickness and even the though of ultimate death of your loved ones.

My dad worked his fingers to the bone, day in and day out trying to make ends meet.  He is a 8 year veteran of the Army National Guard and that is where his hallucinations come from.  He explains that his training was so real that that had mortars, practiced what I t would be like to be a POW and how to survive during war.  It is these trainings that haunt him today.   He sees and talks to his platoon, writes orders to give to his commander and when he hears a noise that sounds like a grenade or mortar, wants to take cover.   Yet, he is not seen as a veteran by VA and doctors refuse to diagnose him with any type of PTSD.

We are lucky, in that my dad is still with us today and decided to ask for help rather than remain silent.   He is receiving help one day at a time and fishing and the outdoors helps calm his mind.  The struggle is far from over but it took those 2 minutes to gather the courage to ask for help that has saved his life for now.

I write this not to seek pity for my family or father, because we are one of many.  I write in hopes of encouraging others with similar conditions to save their life and ask or seek help.  You can be helped and there is help,if you're willing to take it.

Sources: National Institute of Mental Health - http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml

From Migrant Workers to Picking Berries: The New American Dream

As I come to the close of our 3rd Annual NPS Academy and commence the 4th Annual Pura Vida program I can't help but think back to the beginning.   Not only to the beginning of when I developed these programs and began my work as a Youth and Diversity Outreach Coordinator, but to the beginning of my ancestral line.  

Now I should say that as Latinos, my family isn't really into written documentation so I can only tell you the stories that have been passed down to me from my parents and grandparents.  I come from a line of migrant workers on both sides of my family.  My Paternal grandfather migrated into Texas at the young naive age of 14.  As he struggled to get on his feet and pull himself up by his own bootstraps he worked the only job that he knew to do- a ranch hand.  With little to no English skills and a 6th grade education, he knew he wanted to fulfill the American Dream.  He came to this country to do just that, no matter the travesties and tribulations he had to endure, he wanted to give his family a better life.   At the age of 22, he married my grandmother a 1st or 2nd generation Texan.  She's the type of family you hear about that claims "we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us!"   As far as she can remember they've always lived in the same town and who really knows for how long.  My grandmother, a 4th grade educated woman, also grew up knowing the value of hard work.  To this day, she still practices her reading and writing by reading magazines.  There isn't a page that goes by that you don't see her name written in cursive letters. 

When my father was young he and my aunt would be pulled out of school early every year to work the "piscas" or the fields.  They traveled the country by car to pick cherries and apples in Washington and potatoes and cotton in Wisconsin.  It was a tough life to make ends meet.  

My maternal grandparents migrated from Mexico City into the States.  My grandfather worked the fields and eventually mastered the English language, so well in fact that you'd never know he was a foreigner.  A man with conviction to better his family and fight for the people he organized strikes against the pecan company where he worked as a union pecan Sheller.   He organized along side Emma Tenayuca, a Mexican-American Activist to earn better wages and working conditions for the workers.   

My parents believed in also giving us, their kids, more than they had. Growing up, we watched my parents struggle to make ends meet.  Sometimes they had to decide between putting food on the table or paying bills.   They strongly believed in making sure we got a strong education and doing whatever we wanted to do as long as you worked hard and were passionate about it. 

My story is like that of many others like me. We have come a long way. To think of the hard work and dedication that my ancestors working the ranches, fields and in unbearable working conditions had to endure to open up doors for us, their future, their children.  

Today, I work for the same reasons.  I work to introduce youth to their national parks, made possible by those that came before us. I work to open doors for those that come after me, so that they too have the same and even better opportunities that I was given.  It is for all of them and all of those that worked their fingers to the bone that I'm able to pick berries for fun and live my American Dream. 

Cultural Amnesia

Turn on the TV today and you constantly hear about two things that Congress is debating, now that the budget for the rest of FY 2013 has been passed are 1)gun control and 2) immigration reform.  Immigration reform is an important topic that deserves all the talk and media that it is receiving, as gun control, but with immigration talk comes the ignorant comments of "THEY need to go back to where THEY came from," "THEY are stealing our jobs," "THEY are taking advantage of our social programs and not paying taxes."  I for one would like to know who THEY are.  If I make my assumptions, "THEY" refers to immigrants that have come to this country for nothing more than the American Dream.

The purpose of this post is not to make an argument for or against immigration reform but to help us all remember that WE, unless you're Native American, all come from some other place.  None of us, white, black, brown, asian originated in this country unless your family comes from Native Americans. As more and more generations - 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. generations claim the term "American", many tend to forget their cultural identity or begin to have what can be known as "cultural amnesia."   By cultural amnesia, I am not referring to what would show up on Google - a novel by Clive James or a 1980's UK band, but the fact that people have forgotten their roots, their own cultural origins.   Yes, many have been in this country for 5+ generations but your great great great great great grandparents came to THIS country for some sort of freedom and to live a free life to achieve their American Dream, much like those that are coming to this country are doing today.   It is our duty as Americans to ensure that our own knowledge of where WE come from is reignited.

We must continue the legacy of our people, whoever they may be and remember that we stand on the shoulders of our immigrant ancestors.  Next time you hear someone say that THEY should go back to their country, think about which THEY are speaking of….

http://www.ilctr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/immigrants_taxes_use_of_welfare2012.pdf

The future of conservation - Connections, Diversity and Legacy. The NPS Academy.

Last  week, we (Grand Teton National Park) had the privilege of hosting the 3rd annual NPS Academy.  This program brought together 30 bright and truly diverse individuals to experience a week in a natural and wild place, learn about NPS career opportunities, learn about themselves as individuals but most importantly each other in this new community that they have built that they now call a family.   

Throughout the week, I had the opportunity to engage with students about where they are from and who they are.  Each interaction was an inspiration.  As we have talked about connections, diversity and legacy I couldn't help to think of my own connections and legacy to this diverse landscape. 

I came to the NPS, an excited naive individual who was ready to follow a passion of community development and helping people.  After a year as a permanent employee, I was able to link my two passions by creating the outreach programs we have today, including the NPS Academy.  

As I reflect back, I could not have done all that I've accomplished this far by being apathetic and certainly not by myself.  I have worked hard to be where I am by taking that extra mile to prove that I can meet any challenge and to prove those that didn't believe in me wrong.  I was not handed the opportunities that I received but worked up to them.  

I stand on the shoulders of my migrant worker grandparents, my parents who worked hard to make ends meet and to those pioneers like Cesar Chavez and those alike.  I most of all stand on the shoulders of the park rangers of diverse culture backgrounds that paved the way for us to not only do the work that I'm doing but for these students to participate in programs like these.  It is their legacy I continue as I leave my own.

As one of the achritects of this program, I'm thrilled to see the transformation that students have gone through in just 6 days. The ability to build community and willingness to share personal stories inspires me and assures me that we are doing something right.  If I were to give any advice to anyone it would be this, work hard and "bring it" every single day.  Be confident but don't expect things to be handed to you, you must work up to opportunities and prove people and yourself wrong- you can overcome any adversities that are thrown your way no matter how big or small they may be.  

I am truly humbled and inspired by each and ever one of you. Thank you for your commitment this week and as we move forward to the next phase on the program.

Grand Teton NPS Academy 2013 student video:   http://youtu.be/pukGX_bRYzQ

NPS Academy Class of 2013

We are NOT Entitled - An Open Letter to Us, the Millennial Generation

Dear Us, the Millennial Generation:

As Kid President would say, "I'm talking to you… yeah you!" We are the Millennial Generation, defined  as those born after 1980, who have come to age in the new millennium (Pew Research).  Statistics show that we are the most confident, connected, most ethnically and racially diverse and possible on our way to being the most educated generation in history (Pew Research).  As awesome as we are, we also have our downfalls.

Studies have shown that we are all these things along with being the most over-parented generation of all time (Pew Research).  Is this because we've lived through terrorist attacks, massive gun shootings in schools, malls, theaters and grocery store parking lots?  Or is it because we no longer know our neighbors, have block parties and therefore cannot trust anyone? We do indeed have great confidence, but why?  Is it because we, as Bruce Tulgan (2009) states in his book, have always gotten a trophy even when we didn't win first place?  Why bruise our tender egos, just give us a trophy to build our confidence… that wouldn't create any backlash in the future, right?  I'm not too sure of it.

Here's my theory - we are the most educated generation in history, whether by choice of continuing our education or by forcing ourselves back to school because we can't get a job and our parents, who most continue to live with, keep yelling at us because we sit at home hoping to get that awesome job we went to college for.  Because we are the most educated, we believe we should come out of college with the $50k+ job we were promised in our 4-5 years of working towards receiving our Bachelors degree, despite the fact that we only have 1-2 years at minimum of "real world" life experience at best.    We believe that we are equal to those generations before us that have put in years of hard work to get to where they are at and that we should just walk into their job without putting in any blood, sweat or tears into it.   Unfortunately, this isn't the reality we live in.

We may be the most educated generation, but studies show that we do not have the same work or moral ethic than generations before us (Pew Research).  We feel entitled to the jobs that we do not yet deserve.  Getting our "dream job" just does not happen! It's time to realize, Millennial Generation, we are not entitled. It takes thousands of hours of hard work, passion, the need for continual education, on-the-job training, a handful of great mentors and individuals who will fight for you and stand by you.   We have to build meaningful relationships, believe in the work we do and set goals to attain that Everlasting Gobstopper known as our "dream job."  Out of everything we do, we have to be responsible for our own selves by applying to those jobs that will get our foot in the door.  We have to start at the bottom and work our way up, just like everyone has had to, despite our many degrees.  And most of all, we have to stop posting every bit of whining and ranting on our employers and future employers on social media sites - hiring officials do research on potential employees and will see your Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and the other sites you're on, so don't do it!

Remember this, yes we are the most educated, crazy awesome generation but we are not entitled to anything. We are no longer children who will get a trophy just for participating .  "We've got air coming though our nose, a heart beat…. get up and do something!," Kid President.  Work hard, play hard and get things done!

Sources:

Pew Research: Social & Demographic Trends. Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/02/24/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change/

Bruce Tulgan. 2009. "Not Everyone Gets a Trophy." http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/not-everyone-gets-a-trophy-bruce-tulgan/1112034818

Pep Talk. Kid President. http://youtu.be/l-gQLqv9f4o