2030 Landscapes: Raízes – From South Central to Pacoima

This is the fourth entry in a multi-part series, "2030 Landscapes: Visions for California's Nature and Communities," showcasing community perspectives on how we can protect 30% of lands and waters by 2030. Check back next month for more California landscapes. You can read other entries in the series here:

• 2030 Landscapes: Visions for California's Nature and Communities

• 2030 Landscapes: Shade in LA – Rising Heat Inequity in a Sunburnt City

• 2030 Landscapes: What the Winds Say

Anakaren Andrade and Azeneth Martinez’s relationships with nature comes through their ancestors’ knowledge and their experiences as women of color living in Los Angeles. Despite growing up in apartment buildings surrounded by pavement, their mothers and grandmothers showed them the importance of caring for nature by nurturing gardens full of plants and flowers. They learned about natural remedies passed down from ancestral practices, and they rely on nature for food, healing, and health.

Anakaren’s and Azeneth’s histories, experiences, and identities drive their activism to protect public lands and improve access to nature. They work to inspire people through experiences with nature, support their leadership as stewards, and advocate together for changes that benefit their communities. Building community leadership for campaigns – transit-to-trails projects that would give communities access to the San Gabriel mountains, work to protect their water resources – this is how they deliver environmental justice for their communities.

Azeneth: I connect deeply to the San Fernando Valley, my second home for over 16 years. Thankfully my parents immigrated here. I’ve always lived in communities without access to nature like Pacoima. I started taking the bus very young since my parents worked. My young adventurous mind took me to many places including Santa Monica Beach. The 3-hour bus ride was always worth it and gave me the freedom to feel the water and enjoy my day under the sun. 

Anakaren: I grew up in Los Angeles but my second home is Santa Barbara. My love for the ocean began there. My mom’s family immigrated from Mexico and worked growing and picking fruits and vegetables at a local farm. We walked to the beach and learned to fish at Stearns Wharf. I learned how to swim there and started walking/hiking in nature. 

Azeneth: I’m constantly working on my relationship with the land I live on. As an immigrant, it was always hard for me to feel connected to any land. As a child I couldn't understand how anyone can leave their homeland to call a new place home. Thankfully, LA opened its wings for me and let me fly like a true Angelino. Over the years I started working on my connection to nature. My community does not have the access to nature that I dream of yet! Going to parks and learning about native plants reminds me of my childhood in Mexico learning about plant medicine with my grandma. 

Anakaren: Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, accessing nature was difficult. I was privileged that my dad had a car and was committed to taking us to parks and beaches. As an adult, I am still learning about the lands I live on through hiking, learning from indigenous communities, and involvement in environmental justice movements. My relationship with the lands I live on is changing but I continue to appreciate them and am committed to working to protect and increase access to them. 

"Paraíso," acrylic on canvas by Anakaren Andrade.

Azeneth: Nature deprivation affects us deeply. Understanding that not everyone in LA has the same access as you really inspires my work. I recently did a presentation on the San Gabriel mountains to a kids summer program in North Hills. Many had never visited these mountains. One of them said “My dad works two jobs and my mom doesn't know how to drive.” This is the reality for kids in my community: connection to nature often comes later in life, if ever. 

Anakaren: Environmental justice work is not a choice for me, it is a form of survival. My surrounding communities are near freeways, oil drilling, and superfund sites that have negatively impacted our health. We often spend hours traveling to access nature. My community has historically valued and protected nature, and we deserve access to a safe environment.

Anakaren and Azeneth hope that the movement to protect 30x30 includes the perspectives of BIPOC communities, especially the Indigenous communities who have been the first protectors of nature. The movement must understand that protecting nature affects people differently: for some it may mean continued enjoyment of nature’s beauty, for others it means having access to natural spaces, protection from environmental pollution and improved health. 

They dream of a world where everyone lives in a safe environment regardless of income and race. Where we all acknowledge that colonization has driven climate change, and where we center indigenous leadership in protecting nature. They urge people to find ways to connect with nature, to observe their impacts on the environment, and know they’re powerful enough to make a change.

Anakaren’s artwork will be a part of the upcoming exhibition “Taking it to the Next Degree, Rising action to meet rising heat, drought, and wildfire” at Avenue 50 Studio, Inc. from August 6 to September 17, 2022, and at Gateway to Nature Center at El Pueblo de Los Ángeles and online in the fall. She also has an upcoming short film that will be screened at Hispanic Access Foundation’s Our Heritage, Our Planet Film Week in October.