A Naturalist Homecoming

Season 5, Episode 4 – A Naturalists Homecoming

SPEAKERS

Monica Carcamo-Binetti (host), Daisy Prado (guest).

[Intro Music]

[00:00:08] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
Hey, hey. Welcome back to I’ll Go If You Go Podcast. I am back in the studio here at the Save the Redwoods League offices downtown San Francisco on a gorgeous sunny day and I’m with a familiar face. And I am so excited to chat with my guest today. Daisy, why don’t you introduce yourself and tell us more about you.

[00:00:33] Daisy Prado
Hi everyone. My name is Daisy Parado, and I am a community organizer and founder of City Gurlz Hike, which is an outdoors collective here in San Francisco that centers black Latina and indigenous women and non-binary folks here in San Francisco in our beautiful outdoor spaces. And I’m super excited to be chatting with you today.

[00:00:54] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
Yes! We’ve met before for folks at home. Daisy and I actually camped together with our respective groups Bay Area Gal Ventures and City Gurlz Hike. So first off, I love everything about City Gurlz Hike. I follow y’all on Instagram, on all your hiking adventures and I mean everything, the name, the mission. What inspired you to start it and what was missing from the outdoor space that you wanted to create?

[00:01:20] Daisy Prado
I think like many folks coming out of the pandemic, in 2022 is when I first had this idea to create an outdoors collective. Mostly because I wanted to find other people to go outside with me, but also San Francisco is such a unique urban space where we have access to many, so many green spaces. Every San Francisco resident has access to a green space within 10 minutes, and that really is a privilege when you’re living in such a major city with so many people in it. City Gurlz Hike really started from wanting to also see more people like me on those trails and in those parks. I also wanted us to create a safe space for us to be outside as women. I think sometimes it can be scary to be outside alone. City Gurlz Hike is a perfect place for if you don’t have a hiking buddy, like I didn’t at the time. This is a place where you can find those hiking buddies, you can find friends who also want be outside, and that’s why I wanted to start something that would just cultivate community and bring folks outdoors.

[00:02:27] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
I think so many people can relate to that feeling, wanting to be outside, but not always seeing themselves reflected in those spaces. You’ve helped change that for so many. Do you remember though, if you can think back, like where did your relationship with nature begin? Did it begin in 2022 post-pandemic? Or what was little Daisy like? Walk me through your adv, your relationship with nature.

[00:02:52] Daisy Prado: 2022 was the beginning of my homecoming to myself, I would say, because I was always an outdoors kid. I had the privilege of growing up in a place where I had a backyard and I had access to parks, and I think that really changes your relationship with nature when you have access to it in your backyard. I mean, it was, a backyard with a few cactus in it and mostly dirt, but it was still a backyard where I could see birds and I could see different critters on the floor. And so that’s really where that love for being outside started. I was born in California, and I was raised in Arizona and, and I grew to love the desert and the ocean at the same time. And I think along the way through school and careers and all, all, all the things that life brings to adults, I became a little separated from the outdoors. And so, City Gurlz Hike really brought me back to that relationship with the outdoors, and it really has catapulted a bunch of different things in my life in finding that relationship again to land and to nature.

I would say, my mom was also someone who encouraged me being outside. I don’t know if all moms encouraged their little girls to be running around in the dirt, but I’m really grateful that my mom encouraged that. She encouraged me to ask questions, to be curious and I think when you’re outside, those are really important things to do. She let me nerd out all the time. She would, you know, support me being part of different clubs. I was, as a teen, I was a volunteer at the Desert Botanical Garden where I would teach folks about Saguaro cactuses and cacti, and also monarch butterflies, migration. And so, my mom always encouraged those different things. Even if, my mom was a single mom, I was in a low-income family, and so it was hard for her to be driving me around to all these different things. But she always found a way to do that, and I’m really, really grateful for her.

[00:04:51] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
Well, the theme of this season is Redwood the ultimate nature influencer. So, I know that you have been immensely influenced by nature. Particularly that you have become a California naturalist recently. And first of all, that’s amazing. So, congratulations because that’s a big deal. So, talk to me more about that.

[00:05:19] Daisy Prado
Thank you. I started the California Naturalist journey this year. I did five months of training with Audubon Canyon Ranch, and it was a delightful experience. I keep on saying it’s one of the most cherished experiences of my adulthood because it really is, it was an opportunity for me to be out in the field and be curious and wander and be off the grid. Again, feed that curiosity, learn about the different newts that live everywhere. Like it was just, it felt like being back in school with, you know, fourth graders, your fourth-grade peers. And so, it was a really special experience because it was folks also from all different walks of life, of all different ages, and we were able to explore the preserve and learn together. Because to me, being a naturalist is more than just being able to identify different flora and fauna. I think it’s also building a connection with the land that you’re on, and it’s also sharing that knowledge with other folks. And that’s really what drove me to start the naturalist program, is I wanted to become a better outdoors educator, not just for myself, but so that way I can share this knowledge with other folks. That’s really what brought me to the program, and I hope to share all the knowledge with everyone, and I hope to keep learning.

[00:06:41] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
I love that. You know that you want to continue to teach others about the knowledge that you’ve gained. How, what does that look like? How do you see yourself using that in your community, and how do you want to show up with it for others?

[00:06:57] Daisy Prado
Part of the reason why I did the certification program is, I did want to become a better outdoors educator for City Gurlz Hikes, specifically. I wanted to be able to share that knowledge as we’re on the trail and show people like, oh, this is a, a different native flower. This is an evasive species, and this is how it’s taking over the park. I wanted to be able to share that knowledge with folks. Not everyone has the privilege to be able to go to a university and get a degree in all these different things. I, myself have a journalism degree, which is something that I was grateful for at the time. I was able to get a full ride scholarship to do it, but I also wanted to be a marine biologist at one point, and I didn’t get to be a be one.

So, this is again, like a homecoming to myself, but also, it’s a way to share knowledge without having the accessibility issue of you need to go to a university to know this. This is like community peer science and community peer education that we’re doing. So that’s what I’m excited to continue to share with everyone.

[00:08:03] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
I think it’s also good to show a younger generation that this is an option as something that you can do for a living and that you can do this for a job if you choose to. There are multiple paths to this. To what you were saying, that it doesn’t always require a fancy degree for you to get into something, just the curiosity that you might have.

And for, I’m envisioning, you know, a 7-year-old Monica, seeing Daisy, you know, who we kind of look alike, right? Like, to be like, wow, like she looks like me. I can see myself doing what she’s doing. And I think that that’s also important, right, to be that role model for younger, younger generations.

[00:08:49] Daisy Prado
And that’s exactly it. We want to be able to be the faces that other folks might need or that we didn’t see ourselves growing up. And I think that’s part of what pushed me away from an outdoors career initially. I didn’t really know how to do it. I didn’t know anyone that was a marine biologist. I didn’t know anyone that was into conservation besides myself. I, I didn’t know how to even begin that journey. So, this is also a way for other folks to be a part of the certification program. I’ve been really open about sharing the journey of becoming a California Certified Naturalist because I want to demystify it as well. I think, we think this is so out of our reach and so out of our realm that we can’t do it, but anyone can become a naturalist, and I encourage everyone to become a naturalist because your backyard is very distinct than someone else’s backyard. And your community is very different than someone else’s community. So, I encourage everyone to do it. It’s totally possible.

[00:09:53] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
Give an example of what you did while you were getting this certification. Like walk me through an activity that, so I can kind of envision it in my mind of what, what it was like.

[00:10:02] Daisy Prado
It was a wide range of activities. We, in our graduation weekend, we learned about owling, which I had no idea what it is, but it’s a way of identifying and seeing owls in the evening with like this device. Again, I did not know that this device even existed, but it mimics the sounds of owls and that’s how folks like collect research.

We also learned how to ID scat and track, so we were able to find different scat on the floor and from looking at it and looking at our charts, we were able to compare and see, oh, this looks like potentially a bobcat passed by and left their droppings here and you could see what it ate as well. I now know what Turkey vulture scat looks like. Different things that I didn’t imagine myself learning, we did that.

[Music Break]

[00:11:06] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
Being out there in nature, how did that shape how you think about conservation or stewardship? Has it changed how you move through the world?

[00:11:16] Daisy Prado
I think even being around redwoods is a very special experience because we really don’t fully understand how climate resilient, they are. And also, just how resilient they are to a changing landscape. They survived. They were looking at the face of extinction through exploitation, through colonizer, exploitation; and they survived. And so, to me that’s inspiring because it reminds me that we are resilient as human beings. We are very resilient. We’re resilient, and we’re adapting every single day to all the changes, whether it’s the climate crisis, what’s going on in our communities, all the different obstacles that we might face, but we are extremely resilient and nature is extremely resilient. One in one hand in hand. We have to protect each other and support each other in order to survive, in order to survive extinction. So, I think nature, even looking at Redwood specifically, I think it’s like, it’s very inspiring and it reminds you of how much resilience there is in this world.

[00:12:18] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
I know you’re always encouraging your community to get outside. What are some ways that you do that for somebody like me that you know didn’t feel like an outdoorsy person, how would you make the outdoors feel more accessible to folks like me?

[00:12:34] Daisy Prado
I think for folks that don’t see themselves as outdoorsy people find something that you feel like is the gateway to being outside. You don’t have to go 15 miles backpacking. No showers for five days. It does not have to be that way. I think we have a jaded view of what going outside means because of what we see, what we’re programmed to see. We see on Instagram and social media, all these different extreme outdoor sports, and it doesn’t have to be like that. It can be you and your, your family camping, and there’s showers on the campsite. It could be a three-mile hike with your friends, and it’s not, there’s no incline. It can be literally just walking to your nearest park. There’s so many different ways to go outside, it doesn’t have to be super ominous and difficult and expensive. It could be just you finding the nearest bench at your park and you’re outside. So, that’s the biggest thing that I would say. Like find a way that you’re connecting with it. Not in a, in a way that anyone else is doing it, but in a way that you feel comfortable doing it. And if you want to go on full glam to the park, that’s totally okay. That’s totally okay. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I feel like that’s what I’m trying to break with City Gurlz Hike is there’s no one way to go outside. You can show up as your authentic self and in the way that you feel the most comfortable and be outside and enjoy it.

[00:14:03] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
I always say nature doesn’t ask us to show up a certain way. We just have to show up.

[00:14:10] Daisy Prado:
Yes, that’s exactly it. Yes.

[00:14:13] Monica Carcamo-Binetti:
So, with that, how do you think that redwood parks or just nature in general, support community wellbeing, and why do we need these spaces?

[00:14:23] Daisy Prado
I love the quote that you just said, and it reminds me that. The outdoors is supposed to be the great equalizer. It’s supposed to be free for all. It needs to be a space for all. That being said, there are a lot of barriers, and we have to acknowledge those barriers, but also figuring out ways to get folks outdoors. Like we, we need to be able to like to connect with different organizations that might provide transportation because these outdoor spaces really support our mental health. They cultivate community. And our connection with the land, I really do think is, is tied to our overall wellbeing. If we have healthy outdoor spaces, we’re healthy ourselves, so we must protect our public lands and advocate for green spaces that are equitable and clean and healthy for all, not just for folks that live in fancy zip codes. It needs to be across all board the great equalizer.

[00:15:25] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
When I was at Samuel P. Taylor State Park, I met a group that got there through Redwood Rides and I spoke to a representative from, from that group, that said that a lot of these community members didn’t drive and they just, that was just, you know, the norm for them. Right? Just to be, they bus ride, they walk, whatever. Talk to me more about the importance of that and just making people aware that this is a program that even exists.

[00:15:55] Daisy Prado
I actually didn’t even know the program existed myself until lovely Save the Redwoods League staff supported me with this. I claim to be someone that’s pretty in tune with the internet and understands what’s going on in the world. So, if I didn’t know, I know that there’s other folks that might not have access to that information either. Thanks to Save the Redwoods League, we were able to get a group of about 20 City Gurlz up to Samuel P. Taylor as well, and it was, it was such a great experience. It was a one day hike turnaround trip, and it really felt like you were going on a school field trip again. That’s what a lot of you know, these ladies are in their twenties, thirties, forties. And it just felt like we were back in school taking a field trip for the day up to a beautiful state park that I had personally never been to, and a lot of the folks who were on the trip as well. Some were Bay Area natives and some not, but a lot of them had not been to this park either. We can’t expect people to care about a place that they’ve never been to because they can’t even get to it. So, when I think of conservation, I think of that like if we’re going to get more folks to be interested in conservation and interested in protecting our public lands, if we can show them the public lands in the first place.

[00:17:14] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
A billion percent. Not even a million. A billion. A Quadra bajillion percent. Yes. I mean, hello. If I don’t know these places exist, how could I care for them, right? Like if I can’t get there myself.

[00:17:28] Daisy Prado
These types of programs are really, really important, not just for adults, but also for youth. I think about, again, like my mom was a single mom of three kids. She was doing the best she could to shuttle all three kids around to the different locations that she needed to. But you know, she would make an effort to do things like, take us on a hike, take us to the zoo, take us to a botanical garden so we could learn about these different things. And not everyone has the privilege of having like a parent that can do all those things or perhaps their parents might not have a car either. So, I think like we have to think about how do we inspire youth as well? How do we get them engaged with conservation? And it’s by creating those experiences and getting them out to these different state parks.

[00:18:12] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
So, similarly, the work that the League does and other organizations is just that, like we need to instill that in future generations as well, so that this work keeps going.

[00:18:22] Daisy Prado
We have to be able to connect the dots. We have to be able to show young people where these places are. What it is that they’re fighting for. What it is that they’re protecting. I get that we’re not going to be able to take everyone to every single park, but even introducing them to a redwood, it makes an impact. It really does. And like I said, all the outdoor experiences that my mom was able to share with me and take me to, it really created a lasting impact. Clearly, clearly, clearly. As I sit here and talk to you about this, it created a really lasting impact in my life and how I view our shared home.

[00:19:01] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
I love that. Do you have any specific dreams or goals related to your outdoor journey, your work, or just ways you want to keep connecting with nature?

[00:19:13] Daisy Prado
So, I would say that I just want to grow City Gurlz Hike. I really want to help other folks have a better connection with the land. I want to encourage other folks to sign up to become California naturalists as well. I want us to get through there and, and just have a bunch of like BIPOC, California naturalists all across, California. Because I, again, if there was any better time, it’s now really to have folks out there that are fighting for public lands, that are fighting for conservation, that are fighting to protect redwoods. There’s not a better time to care about the nature and the outdoors in your backyard, and that’s really what I plan to do in the foreseeable future.

[00:19:54] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
I love it. So, can you tell our listeners if I or they want to join City Gurlz Hike, where can we find you? How do we join?

[00:20:04] Daisy Prado
If you would like to join us for City Gurlz Hike, we do hikes, monthly in San Francisco and beyond, but we run from about March to November, given the rainy season. And so, you can find us on Instagram @CityGurlzHike. And we’re really excited to do more hikes for the rest of the year. We have potentially a backpacking trip coming up in September, so please be on the lookout for if you want to learn how to backpack. If you’re a beginner backpacker, this is the perfect time to learn. So, we’ll be doing that in September and please come out and join us.

[00:20:41] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
No, definitely that camping trip was amazing. It was really nice to see the, the first timers as well. I was a seasoned vet. It was my second time, my second rodeo [laughter] but yeah, the first time I went camping was also with the league. I was 42 the first time that I went camping. So, the other message that I wanted to say is like we’ve been talking about, you know, encouraging people to, you know, connect with nature and to get out there and to find that, you know, place that feels right for you. But I also want to reiterate that it’s never too late. That it doesn’t matter if you didn’t grow up with it, if you weren’t birthed in the center of a redwood tree. Listen, that’s okay. Like at any time you can become an outdoorsy person. You and I could probably talk for hours of what does it mean to be an outdoorsy person, right? Like whatever you think that looks like, whatever you think that means, it’s not true. Like you are an outdoorsy person because you are you and you’re outside.

[00:21:43] Daisy Prado
I think that’s a great message and a great last thing to say. It doesn’t matter what your age is, your socioeconomic status, whether or not you want to school for this. Whether or not you have all the crazy expensive camping equipment. Jane Goodall is still outside, and she is in her, I’m think, eighties or nineties. Really. There, there isn’t an age where you have to limit yourself, from being outside or from starting to go outside. So, I really hope that you and I can both encourage

[00:22:15] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
Let’s do it.

[00:22:16] Daisy Prado
more generations of folks to go outside, and protect our public lands.

[00:22:21] Monica Carcamo-Binetti
Daisy, thank you so much for sharing your story and your energy with us. You’re out here creating something powerful, and it’s definitely felt. Thank you so much again.

[00:22:31] Daisy Prado
Thank you so much, and thank you and to the League for bringing me here today, and I’m excited for us to continue to be outside together and cultivate community.

[00:22:40] Monica Carcamo-Binetti: I’ll go if you go.

[00:22:42] Daisy Prado: Let’s go!

[00:22:46] 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 Mariela Gándara and Caleb Castle for graphic design and media support. And to Adam Kaplan for tech support. Theme song and music by Nhu Nguyen and Anni Feng. You can find seasons one though 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 the conversation. For behind-the-scenes and bonus content, follow us on Instagram @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 trail or beyond.