Episode 3 – Origins of a Green Hero
SPEAKERS
Monica Carcamo-Binetti (host), Rahsaan McFarland II (guest).
[Intro Music]
[00:00:00] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
Hello. Hello. Welcome to another episode of I’ll Go IF You Go. I’m your host, Monica Carcamo-Binetti. We’re in the Save the Redwoods League office here in downtown San Francisco. It’s kind of a cold Friday morning, but I’m stoked with our guest today. Joining me is Rahsaan McFarland II. There are so many things about Rahsaan that scream superhero in the making.
Picture a young Clark Kent still in journalism school, camera strap slung over his shoulder, discovering his powers, one field trip by a time. That’s Rahsaan! A Stanford undergrad, artist, emerging science communicator, who is discovering new strengths with every step he takes under the redwood canopy. Through the collective he co-founded, Nurtured by Nature, he opens the outdoors to students that rarely feel invited in green spaces. Even as today’s federal playbook sidelines environmental protections, Rahsaan keeps leveling up by studying water justice foraging alliances with tribal communities, and letting nature sharpen his vision for a fairer, greener feature.
This is a story about hope, grit, and the origins of a hero that refuses to ask for permission to fight for environmental justice. Ready to meet one of the next protectors of the redwoods? Let’s dive in.
[00:01:23] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Awesome. I’m so excited to have you here today.
[00:01:26] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Thanks for having me.
[00:01:27] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
So, Rahsaan, our theme for this season is redwoods are the biggest influencers in nature. So, can you tell me how you’ve been nurtured by these amazing influencers we call redwoods?
[00:01:45] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Absolutely. Redwoods have provided so much intellectual curiosity for me. The interplay between coast redwoods and, and marine fog, the fog layer we have here in coastal California, it provides a lot of the moisture they need during the summer season. So, thinking about what, what did changes in fog frequency mean for the redwoods, but also, I think a side of a spiritual communion, there’s something hard to describe about being in the presence of a redwood tree and just feeling connected to something that’s bigger than myself and, you know, those trees really put my problems and my worries in perspective.
[00:02:29] Monica Carcamo-Binetti: I’m curious though, how, you know, even your evolving relationship with nature shaped your career path?
[00:02:36] Rahsaan McFarland II:
I like to say the redwood is responsible for my entry into the Earth and environmental sciences. In October of 2024, I joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a student trainee. I was based in the water division working specifically with tribal water infrastructure, so it was there where I was able to exercise my commitment to the environment, specifically dealing with regulatory governance. So, what I was doing there was developing communication materials to support the administration’s, drinking and wastewater management programs in tribal communities throughout the American West.
I was on site for about, or in the office here in San Francisco for about four months. Then with the change in administration, I was terminated in early February, rehired in March, and then placed on administrative leave. Which means I have not been able to return to office. I haven’t been able to do the work that I was doing before the chaos, but that has not dissuaded my motivation, my capacity to continue supporting the communities that I was supporting when I was working in office for EPA.
Actually, this summer, I’m working with the Washoe and Bishop PayU communities in Sierras to better understand forest uses, stewardship values, cultural and social impacts of climate change in the, the Eastern Sierra Nevada, conducting interviews to sort of understand both land and community valuations and, and in sort of a circuitous way, I am still able to do the work that I was doing before I was placed on administrative leave. I’m excited for this summer. It’s going to be a, a wonderful time up in the Sierras, working with tribal communities.
[00:04:31] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Is there hope for you to return to it? Or like what is, what does that look like?
[00:04:38] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Yeah, so administrative leave this sort of, this liminal space, you know, at the present moment I don’t have access to any internal information, so my government laptop, my badge id, all of that deactivated. My understanding is that administrative leave is, is designed with the intention that I will be able to return to office, but with the directives that are coming down from the federal government, it’s unclear if that will actually become a reality.
[00:05:09] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
To meet someone who has actually been impacted by the things that you see in the news, makes it very different to personalize it, to have somebody like you who’s so passionate, who is not able to do it because of an administration change. But I also think that the story is admirable. That you are like, yeah, cool, that happened, but that’s not going to derail my path of what I want to pursue and the wind in your sails is being fueled by you and your passion of how you want to take this forward, and that’s not going to stop you.
[Music Break]
[00:05:55] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Tell me about Nurtured by Nature because it really feels like it’s the heart of your work. Can you tell us more about the mission behind it?
[00:06:06] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Nurtured by Nature is a collective I co-founded with the Stanford Black Student Union that works to educate, empower, and engage black students with nature through health advocacy, wellness campaigns, and outdoor recreation.
[00:06:23] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
I think that’s really important for people to feel seen and welcome in those spaces. How are you encouraging your community, especially those who might not always feel invited into the outdoor spaces to spend time in nature or visit local parks?
[00:06:41] Rahsaan McFarland II:
That’s a wonderful question and one I often think about. I like to think that I encourage folks to get out by sort of breaking down the barriers to outdoor recreation. Transportation, as, as I see it is, is one of the biggest barriers here in the Bay. We fully subsidize transportation options for students to get out and we help them locate gear, whether, you know, connecting them with some resources at Stanford or, or elsewhere.
And also the community aspect. It’s really hard to be the only one out there that looks like you in those spaces. So, a big part of our mission is doing things as a community, as a collective. Sort of having that support system with you can be magical and sort of making you feel more comfortable in that space and motivating you to continue entering those spaces that historically just haven’t looked like us.
[00:07:39] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
A hundred percent. I can relate to that immensely. Sometimes you think that you’re the only one who is not comfortable in the outdoors or doesn’t have the right gear, or didn’t grow up in a nature environment, and then when you open it up and you start having these conversations and you realize that there’s a lot of other people that have that same experience and that you can bond over that. And those relationships that you build in the outdoors have just a different connotation that, that encouragement and that relationship that we built by being out there together. And then it feels more yours. Right? And you want to take care of it.
[00:08:22] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Precisely. Yeah. I, I think you hit the nail on the head there, Monica. It’s all about the connection. It’s about feeling not only connected to the land but connected to the people.
[00:08:32] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Tell me a little bit more about, uh, some of the redwood parks that you visited with your group with Nurtured by Nature.
[00:08:38] Rahsaan McFarland II:
The first Redwood Park, to my memory that we visited was, Redwood National and State Parks. Up in Humboldt, which, you know, it, it was, it was quite the Redwood Park to start off with. We connected with Redwood Rising, a landscape scale restoration project.
[00:08:57] Monica Carcamo-Binetti: Was that in Prairie Creek?
[00:08:59] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Yeah, in Prairie Creek.
So, we got to meet with student apprentices who were actually, you know, boots on the ground doing the work to restore these ecosystems, which was incredibly inspiring and humbling. It was just amazing to see so many folks who dedicated themselves to protecting these spaces and, and restoring them back to conditions that are largely absent, in many of their historical groves.
So yeah, Redwood National State Parks was their first. Nurture by Nature, has gone to other redwood parks, mostly in, in the in the Bay.
[00:09:34] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
What’s next for Nurtured by Nature? How does this tie into that and where do you see that going?
[00:09:41] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Hmm. What’s next for Nurture by nature? The big, the big question. It’s, it’s been on my mind. I’ll be returning to Stanford next year, but I think, I think I want to pass the baton, not because I’m not committed to the, to the cause, but you know, there’s, there are wonderful people who are working beside me who have so many amazing ideas for what Nurtured by Nature could become, and I want to give them the space to, to self-actualize that.
So, I want to sort of play a more behind the scenes role, give some other students at Stanford the, the, the space, the, the, the stage to really exercise their creative genius. I’m excited.
[00:10:21] Monica Carcamo-Binetti: Well, it’s a legacy. A legacy that you can leave behind for others to pick up the baton. What was our, our episode called? Pass the Baton, But You’re Not Gone. I think that’s, that’s a good, that’s a good way to, to look at it.
[Music Break]
So, let’s zoom out of that a bit, not just for our immediate groups. How do you think that redwood parks or just access to natural spaces in general contribute to a community wellbeing?
[00:10:55] Rahsaan McFarland II:
You know, I’ve, I’ve been in the Bay for four years and the pace of life here and specifically at Stanford is, it’s very fast. It’s very, you know, you sort of feel like an octopus with your, your tentacles are spread out across so many different responsibilities. So to put simply, it’s about slowing down, slowing down the, the busyness of life, slowing down your mind and really commuting with something that’s bigger than yourself.
[00:11:21] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
I completely agree. It’s hard to be in, in the outdoors and not feel good. It’s like coming back to something that you didn’t know you needed to go back to, but it’s always there waiting for you. I think that that is also an important component of a larger community that benefits from having these spaces.
[00:11:44] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Absolutely. Yeah. The trees are always willing to listen. They don’t judge. I hope that everyone finds time to visit their local redwood park or park in general and spend time with the ecosystems.
[00:11:59] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Well, it’s clear that your connection to nature is deeply woven into your purpose. As you look ahead, what are your hopes or aspirations for your career and how do you see nature continuing to influence that journey?
[00:12:14] Rahsaan McFarland II:
My passion for the outdoors has sort of motivated me to pursue a career in environmental protection, environmental regulation, both protecting human health and the environment. So, that’s a direction I would like to continue pursuing in, in a capacity that I can. Right now, a topic on my mind is, are public lands, what’s, what’s the status of them?
What will they be for not only my generation, but future generations.
[00:12:44] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Your desire to keep these lands, not just for you, but you’re thinking of the future. People like you who really, really take that and have made that their career. I mean, it, it’s an important, you’re an important piece of the fabric of humanity. And that might sound really dramatic, but I genuinely believe that. That you have this very strong purpose, and I think that that’s amazing.
[00:13:11] Rahsaan McFarland II: Thank you so much, Monica.
[Music Break]
[00:13:19] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
That awe, when I step out of the car and just that feeling of what you’re describing of just like, wow, gosh, y’all have been here for so long and there are very few things in life that make me feel that way. I love that feeling and I often ask myself, will I ever not have this feeling like, will I ever get sick of it? Do you wonder that, or do you just accept that you’re always in awe?
[00:13:51] Rahsaan McFarland II:
I, I generally accept that I’m always in awe, you know. I’ve got maybe 500 or so pictures of redwood trees. So, every time I pass one, I can’t help but take out my phone and snap a photo of one because they’re just amazing and it’s incredible how they’ve been on this earth for so long in spite of all of the anthropogenic changes that are coming full force at them. They stand the test of time. That’s the definition of awe, if I’ve ever heard one.
[00:14:21] Monica Carcamo-Binetti: So, you’ve got this trip coming up in the summer, which I cannot wait for you to go out there because it’s super beautiful, but what’s, what happens after? What is, where’s your career going to take you after the summer and what’s next?
[00:14:36] Rahsaan McFarland II:
I want to continue my work in water. You know, being here in California. I’ve come to see how precious water is as a resource. I grew up in Georgia for context and water has never been an issue there. You know, there’s always another thunderstorm. Always another flood. So, I, I want to learn more about the, the ecology of water, but also the ways in which we need to regulate and, and maintain this resource. I want to work with water in some regulatory, capacity. I think that’s what’s next for me after undergrad.
[00:15:10] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Thank you so much for joining us today. It was really amazing to get to know you a little bit better, and if I or our audience want to follow along and maybe see some of those 500 pictures, where can we do that?
[00:15:23] Rahsaan McFarland II:
Yeah, you can, find some of them on Instagram @StanfordNaturePhoto. It’s a photography club that I helped co-found, and every now and then we’ll post really amazing photos of, of Redwoods and, and many other cool things in the Bay. So check us out!
[00:15:41] Monica Carcamo-Binetti: Definitely will. Thank you so much again. Really appreciate your time.
[End Credits]
[00:15:48] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Thanks for joining us on I’ll Go If You Go, a Save the Redwoods League podcast. This season is produced by Leslie Parra and hosted by Monica Carcamo-Binetti, edited and sound engineered by Mac Cardona at cWave Media. Thank you to Mary McPheely and Caleb Castle for graphic design and media support and to Adam Kaplan for tech support. Theme Song and music by Nhu Nguyen and Annie Feng. You can find seasons one through four wherever you listen to podcasts or on savetheredwoods.org where you can also find transcripts of each episode. If you like our show, please rate and review. It helps more people find us and join in on the conversation. From behind the scenes and bonus content, follow us on Instagram at @IllGoIfYouGoPod. If you have comments or questions, you can email us at outreach@savetheredwoods.org. We’d love to hear from you and maybe even share your comments on the podcast. I look forward to when our paths cross again on the hiking trails and beyond.
