This week, we’re featuring our recent interview with Laura (pronounced Loud-ah) Hernandez, former LEJ Eco-Apprentice (2019). Laura is now working for Youth Outside as a Program Coordinator. Check out our interview to learn about their new role and their reflections on their time at LEJ.
What is Youth Outside?
“Youth Outside is an organization that uplifts, centers, and promotes voices that have been marginalized in the environmental and outdoor justice movement. A lot of ways this is done is through funding. An example is Liberated Pathways – a program helping to fund outdoor environmental recreation organizations, run by and for communities of color in the Pacific Northwest, New Mexico, and Arizona. Youth Outside also invests in the next generation of leaders through the Outdoor Educators Institute (OIE) to provide free trainings to help elevate leadership of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.”
Tell us about your role at Youth Outside?
“I am the Program Coordinator for the Outdoor Educators Institute (https://youthoutside.org/programs/outdoor-educators-institute/ ). I’m the one that reaches out to all the partners, plans the agenda, the program calendar, and ensures that the partners that come out are folks of color. It’s an all womxn’s cohort. In this cohort, our intention is to include people who move about the world in a body that others would identify as female. I lead the trips and make sure everyone is safe.
We’ll be going birding for the first time, kayaking, rock climbing, bouldering, camping, and hiking. We’ve had to change the program to be half virtual, half in person, due to Covid. OEI connects folks of color to the outdoor industry free of cost. We have cultural relevancy as well as tactical skills training, for people who want to lead others outdoors. I run that whole program.”
What inspires you about this work?
“Ever since growing up, I’ve always been a huge advocate for making people feel comfortable and safe and worked to support people to advocate for others. So, this felt like the right place to be. I was a participant [in the OEI program] in the past, and it was life-changing for me. I wanted to provide it to others. I love helping people find their passion. I love seeing people trying something for the first time and then seeing them love it. If they don’t love it then it’s like, okay let’s find something else. One of our program leaders says, “helping folks walk through their vision.” From the end goal of the vision, these are just tiny steps and it’s so nice to be one of the stepping stones. Helping others find their passion, their goals. And if not with me then hopefully knowing more of their trajectory, even if this isn’t for them.”
Is there anything you’re taking from your time at LEJ to apply to your work now?
“Having that experience and perspective of being an outdoor educator [at LEJ] has helped me put things into perspective. I have a better understanding of what these folks need and are going through in terms of experience and learning. LEJ especially helped in the cultural relevance sector. The practice of having to build agendas and programming contributed to making the work I’m doing now easier than would have been without having that experience. Also just working in the Bayview community that has a large Black community and folks of color that live in the Bayview. Working with that community, going to the EJ Task Force and community meetings, really highlighted the importance of understanding your community and working for them. Not just coming in saying, “I have this great program.” Even in my personal life, it’s helped me shift. Recently, I made my own tincture out of Stinging Nettles and a California Poppy salve. Bridget, the Programs Manager, really inspired me. I’ve been developing the relationship with nature that I’ve always wanted. I steward the earth and the earth gives me all these things. To share that joy and be in community with people that have all the values that I do.”
Anything else you’d like to say?
“LEJ was such a welcoming space for me to be able to learn and make mistakes but also push me in a way that helped me grow. It led me to the position that I’m in now. I’m thankful to LEJ for helping me make mistakes, grow and get me into the position I’m in now.
Youth outside is such a wonderful program and if you know anyone that would benefit from being in the Outdoor Educators Institute, you can email me (Laura) at oeiprogramcoordinator@youthoutside.org or sign up for the newsletter.
To learn more about OEI click this link: https://youthoutside.org/programs/outdoor-educators-institute/
Something I always like to tell people: “You deserve to be outside. You deserve to be in this space as much as anybody. So go outside.”
