October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26

CONSERVATION
A Latino Outdoors coordinator
connects and cares for parklands
during a Día de los Muertos
celebration.
Parks as Places for Connection,
Belonging and Inspiration
By Yakuta Poonawalla
I
n the fall of 2021, while wildfires raged in California and I mourned
the heartbreaking losses to human and nonhuman life due to the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I read a book titled What Kind of
an Ancestor Do You Want to Be? (tinyurl.com/46mjddb8). This bold,
radical and powerful invitation tugged at my weak heart, and slowly hope
started to strengthen me from within. I was reminded of a stewardship
program we hosted pre-pandemic to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day
of the Dead), a festival of remembering those who have passed away, and
Diwali, a festival of light and hope. The trailhead was transformed into an
altar (ofrenda), where participants placed photos and sentimental objects of
loved ones they had lost. Marigolds, colorful paper flowers and diyas (an
oil lamp made of clay) cast a warm and welcoming glow. We exchanged
stories about rituals around life and death and made a promise to spread
hope and light beyond this program. Plants were planted in memory of
loved ones who had passed, and now, many participants come back to that
park site to say hello to the Seaside daisies and Yarrow they had planted.
When people see themselves -
their cultures, languages and identities
- reflected in a park, they
come back. The connection moves
beyond an initial introduction to a
sense of belonging.
For example, when Golden Gate
National Parks Conservancy and
26 Parks & Recreation | O CTOBER 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
National Park Service staff sent an
invitation to our communities in observance
of the Festival of Eid (an
event marking the end of Ramadan)
- as part of a habitat restoration
volunteer program - it brought not
just people from within local Muslim
communities, but also a diverse
group of people who showed up to
learn and offer support, including
the park's regular volunteers. This
gathering and many others
like
these over the years have given us
new ways of bringing our communities
into a conversation about culture,
traditions, rituals, beliefs and
faith as metaphors for deepening
our relations with each other.
Sweet exchanges like " Eid
Mubarak! " filled the air at this program.
When a personal language
PHOTO COURTESY OF VICTORIA REEDER

http://www.tinyurl.com/46mjddb8

October 2022 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2022 - Parks & Recreation

October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 1
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 2
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 3
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 4
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 5
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 6
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 7
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 9
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 11
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 13
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 14
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 17
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 18
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 19
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 20
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 21
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 22
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 23
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 28
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 29
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 30
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 31
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 32
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 33
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 34
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 36
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 37
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 38
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 41
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 43
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 44
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 45
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 46
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 47
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 48
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 49
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 50
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 51
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 52
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 53
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 54
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 55
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com