"When I reflect on my connection to nature, my identity and community informs every experience. I am a Latinx Non-Binary Pansexual person born to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic. My first connection to the outdoors was spending my afternoons as a child with my grandmother, learning about tropical flora and cultural practices in her garden. As a teen, I was bullied often for being queer and I would always retreat to the woods to still my thoughts and emotions. As a young adult, I spent several years apprenticing for a Medicine Woman from the Miccosukee Tribe, learning about plant medicine & wildcrafting, and actively fighting against water pollution and for land rights. Every time I recreate in the outdoors, it is an opportunity for me to connect with my ancestors and my roots. It is an invitation to honor the land and the stewards who maintain these beautiful spaces which I find healing. It is an active reminder that we all need to do our part to recreate responsibly and...