First bilingual walk of the year in Trinidad
Spring is here and along with it more activity in the bird population in Humboldt. The Trinidad Coastal Land Trust (TCLT) wants to take advantage of the season by inviting the spanish-speaking community to a bird watching walk. The walk will be led by HSU students Daisy Ambriz-Peres (alum) and Natalia Sojka on Sunday March 21.
Ambriz-Peres and Sojka met each other in a wildlife biology class at Humboldt State University. They quickly became friends since they reminded each other of the Latinx community that they’d left in their home cities.
Ambriz-Peres traveled hundreds of miles from Las Vegas, Nevada to study at HSU. It was here that her love of wildlife began with spiders. In the heat of the desert, it wasn’t easy to go out and enjoy nature but Ambriz-Peres remembered that her mother encouraged her to go out and explore. Ambriz-Peres also recalled that her mother was a great naturalist who really enjoyed plants and being outside.
“Even though it was a very urban area, I felt like she always showed me to have curiosity of the outside world, to ask questions,” Ambriz-Peres said. “She taught me to be curious.”
Just like her friend, Sojka started her wildlife career with a single species, cats. Her obsession with cats followed her thousands of miles from her native country Bolivia. Here in Humboldt, by taking classes about diverse faunas she discovered a new passion, birds.
“The truth is, I think what everybody likes about them is that they can fly,” Sojka said. “That has always fascinated me because they’re so small and when you think about how there are animals that can fly, it’s pure magic.”
Their love for birds strengthened the connection between Ambriz-Peres and Sojka and has culminated in this walk. Ambriz-Peres , who after graduating from HSU started working with Friends of the Dunes had an idea for a bilingual event with Michelle Kunst of the TCLT. Both wished to include spanish-speakers in outdoor spaces.
TCLT’s goal is the conservation of the lands under their care for the wildlife that exists there and for the responsible use of the public. With projects of interest for all ages, TCLT is looking to instill values of respect and love for the coastal lands of Trinidad. They want to include the public in the care of these lands and they also have community science programs.
Kunst and the leaders of the walk hope to be able to see a variety of songbirds and seabirds at the height of the trail, perhaps even a whale too. The walk will take place at the Elk Head trail in Trinidad, a beginner’s trail. The walk is expected to last from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
For more information about RCLT and its programs, visit their website at www.trinidadcoastallandtrust.org and to sign up for the walk, email Kunst at michelle@trinidadcoastallandtrust.org. There is limited space due to social distancing.
Translated by Nancy Garcia
Featured photo courtesy of Natalia Sojka
