An East Palo Alto Summer with Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula
Middle schooler from Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula finds ‘peace’ exploring along the shoreline at Cooley Landing in East Palo Alto.
Hi everyone,
My name is Ray. I'm a proud member of the East Palo Alto community, born and raised here. I am also an intern for Grassroots Ecology stationed at Cooley Landing in East Palo Alto.
Over the past year I have helped maintain and plant in our marshland restoration projects. I have also led volunteer workdays and nature walks to help teach local students and families about the importance of habitat restoration and conservation.
My past experiences as a camp counselor and as a kid growing up in East Palo Alto help guide me in my role as a Habitat Restoration Intern.
Habitat Restoration Interns Raymundo (left) and Jade (right) share about Grassroots Ecology’s work at the Love our Earth Festival, hosted by the Cities of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park.
On a rainy day, Raymundo (left) exemplifies a successful native plant installation at our Ravenswood Preserve restoration project.
This summer I helped lead a 5-week program for 7th graders from the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. 40 students joined us on Wednesday mornings at Cooley Landing, and we had different outdoor activities each week. I'd like to share my top 3 moments of the program for me.
Seeing them enjoy being out in the sun.
Since the younger generations are being exposed to screens much earlier in their lives, some forget about nature and don’t go outside often, a problem my younger brother has. This is why the moments spent outside with the Boys & Girls Club kids is very important to me.
On an exploratory “mud day,” students present the crabs they found on the shoreline!
7th grade students support water retention and weed suppression by moving mulch onto restoration areas in their local open space.
Watching the kids engage in what I am speaking about and really listen to the activities I led.
I was very worried about keeping the kids engaged throughout the whole time of the program, however the kids following directions made my worries disappear.
Hearing them say “thank you!” and “this was very fun” at the end of our workdays.
I found it very heart-warming to hear these phrases from the kids, knowing that your hard-work and dedication to the day/activities paid off and the kids left with good experiences and knowledge!
Youth support removal of a challenging weed, fennel, that outcompetes biodiversity in local open spaces.
Working with the younger generations of my community has been very fun and engaging. I believe that the kids who participate in the program gain a lot: from education of different careers, to the importance of habitat restoration, to just getting outside in their local open space.
Thank you to the students, my team, and the Boys & Girls Club staff for a great summer in East Palo Alto!
By Raymundo Salgado, Habitat Restoration Intern
