Community Volunteer Ambassadors Celebrate Latino Conservation Week

By Celeste Morales, National Community Volunteer Ambassador Leader, Washington Support Office

Celeste Morales, a Chicana with a Hispanic heritage stemming from Jalisco, Mexico, is serving as the National Leader for the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program. For the 2022 cohort of this program, she works directly with the National Park Service Washington Support Office as a liaison for the Volunteers-In-Parks Program and provides peer support to over 40 Community Volunteer Ambassadors at national park sites across the US. In celebration of Latino Conservation Week, read about Celeste's path to access our public lands.

Celeste, National Community Volunteer Ambassador Leader

NPS/Ashley Waymyth

My journey with the National Park Service began a few years ago, when I discovered nature on my very first camping trip under the coastal redwoods. Seeing the big trees canopy over me was a sign of beauty that I never knew existed. Astonished by the hidden world, I shed tears of joy and had thoughts of confusion about this new discovery. I wondered why it took me so long to find it! As an inner-city kid from Oakland, California, my family's financial barriers have limited my exposure to the world. The exposure I had was limited to the neighborhood I lived in, not stretching much further than my apartment complex. Like many, growing up I was not given much guidance and had to learn how to overcome the unique challenges I was dealt. However, I continued to stay resilient and leaned on mentors who have pushed me to reach my full potential. Throughout my college career, I focused my energy on expanding accessible outdoor recreation activities in my local city parks and recreation department and gaining new skills leading underground mine tours with my regional park district. I was fortunate to become the first in my family to graduate with a four -year degree.

Volunteers at Hot Springs National Park.

NPS/Kendra Barat

Since then, I have been navigating a path of access to our public spaces. Last year, I served as the Community Volunteer Ambassador member at Hot Springs National Park where I had the opportunity to learn of many career opportunities with the National Park Service. Throughout my service, I assisted with coordinating park-wide events in the celebration of the park's centennial year, while helping rebuild the park’s Volunteers-In-Parks program. From promoting health and wellness with Park Rx Day through the healing thermal water, to enhancing community engagement through a day of service in the park, there was always something new to learn. With this experience, I was able to enhance a mission-driven culture through leveraging new partnerships and helped the park bring in over 700 hours of volunteer service hours, the highest number the park has seen in over 3 years.

National Early Service Training

NPS

I had a desire to expand on my skills, so my curiosity led me to take on a new challenge as the National Community Volunteer Ambassador Leader. In this role, I serve directly with the National Park Service Washington Support Office as a liaison for the Volunteers-In-Parks Program and as a peer support to over 40 Community Volunteer Ambassador members at national park sites across the US. Throughout my role, I have assisted in facilitating the 3-day National Early Service Training, advocated for members’ interests, and assisted members in becoming self-sufficient leaders by providing professional development and volunteer management tools.

Office of the Director

NPS

In my two roles with the Community Volunteer Ambassador program, I have seen a tremendous amount of growth within myself as a leader and as an advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Having had the opportunity to meet Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III, the Director of the National Park Service, I shared my excitement about a potential career in our public spaces, but also my frustration as a person of color trying to thrive in historically white spaces. Our conversation encouraged me to continue leading by example – to not only have a seat at the table, but to use that voice to speak up. My journey will not be easy, but I am prepared to work every day to create a more accessible path for the next generation.

As we continue celebrating Latino Conservation Week, join me in the important work of inspiring the next generation of stewards. I will continue working with the National Park Service to strengthen opportunities for Latino communities to show their support and commitment to permanently protecting our natural, cultural, and recreational resources.

Conservation Diaries

One of my favorite projects during my time as National Community Volunteer Ambassador Leader was the creation of a podcast series called Conservation Diaries. The series highlights diverse international volunteers at the National Park Service Volunteers-In-Parks Program. The international volunteers program brings talented people from different cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds to gain experience as volunteers in conservation-related fields in National Park Service parks and programs. My goal in the Conservation Diaries project was to share the importance of diversity in the work force and to demonstrate that having different perspectives helps the National Park Service to connect to all communities. The podcast series has five episodes and features former international volunteers who experienced America’s best idea.

“I have enjoyed my experience with the National Park Service, and I wanted to share the extended benefits of parks to everyone and to enlist their stewardship. Connecting the US national parks with individuals from other countries makes parks more dynamic. International volunteers bring unique cultural viewpoints that helps the National Park Service share its mission with countries around the globe.”

About the Community Volunteer Program

As a fifty-week professional internship, the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program is managed in partnership between the National Park Service Volunteer-In-Parks Program and the Stewards Individual Placement Program of Conservation Legacy. Members are youth (ages 18-30 or 18-35 if veterans) from diverse backgrounds who aspire to future careers in service and conservation stewardship. In 2022, approximately 90 members will be placed in park sites throughout the country to provide capacity-building services focused on connecting communities to parks through engagement and volunteer activities.