Intern Spotlight: Valeria Caballero

Valeria Caballero standing in front of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site sign

NPS Photo/ Cecilia Shearon

Interns at national parks across the country are working on programs that make outdoor recreation possible for visitors. Valeria Caballero, a former Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP) Community Outreach and Interpretation intern through Environment for the Americas, focused on connecting underrepresented communities to national parks like Salem Maritime National Historical Park and Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site.

Growing up, Valeria had always been interested in conservation, preservation, and education topics. Despite living down the road from a national historical park, she had not visited it before. It was in her first year of her environmental science undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at San Antonio, that she began to see firsthand the opportunities parks could provide. During that year, she visited White Sands National Park and learned about conservation work and the outdoor resources available to her and others in her community.

Valeria hosted a Pollinator Week scavenger hunt in 2024 at the Derby House Garden at Salem Maritime National Historical Park

NPS Photo

This experience highlighted the importance of sharing accessible information that encourages more people to visit and engage with national parks. Valeria explained how her visit reshaped the way she views parks and their role for the public: “It wasn’t until later that I began to understand how parks, both the big, iconic ones and the smaller historic sites, serve as essential green and public spaces that help people connect with both nature and history.”

With Spanish as her first language and a background in sustainability, Valeria spent most of her internship at Salem Maritime National Historical Park, where she created Spanish programming and educated visitors about the park. Located near a large Dominican community, the park could connect residents with park resources directly through Valeria’s ability to communicate in the community’s primary language.

For Pollinator Week, she created a bilingual scavenger hunt in Spanish and English that took place in the Colonial Revival Garden behind the Derby House in Salem Maritime National Historical Park. Over 40 visitors moved through the garden, identifying different pollinators including insects, birds, and bats. Then they learned how these species are connected to our food systems.

Valeria held a seed saving pop-up at the Salem Armory Regional Visitor Center. Over 50 people stopped by, taking common milkweed or echinacea seeds with them to plant in the spring.

NPS Photo/ Kenna Switzer

This year, Valeria also led a seed-saving event, which invited visitors to connect with plants through touch by separating harvested common milkweed and echinacea seeds from the garden. Participants were able to take seeds home with them, learning how these heirloom seeds have adapted to the garden over time. With more than 100 plant species in the garden, many of which have medicinal properties, the project emphasized that seeds should be accessible to everyone.

Valeria’s commitment to make parks accessible extended to Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, where she assisted interns from the Environment for the Americas’ Let’s Go Birding Program with their accessible birding initiatives. These programs used a variety of models and materials to help people with visual impairments experience different bird species. Valeria prepared small bilingual booklets introducing common birds that visitors might encounter in the park. These guides were left with the park for more people to benefit from in the future. She also adapted similar resources for events by translating materials into Spanish and created reusable templates that allow staff and volunteers to produce more guides in the future. By leaving these materials behind, Valeria ensured that her work would have a lasting impact, making education more accessible for the community over time.

Valeria helped two Let’s Go Birding Interns host an accessible birding program at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site and introduced the pocket-sized bilingual birding guide she made for visitors

Photo courtesy of Environment for the Americas/ Tatiana Mihaita

Her work has helped Salem Maritime National Historical Site and Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site become more engaging for a wider range of visitors. By providing bilingual materials and other resources, she created opportunities for individuals to feel connected to these spaces. Through her outreach efforts to the local community, she ensured that park experiences can reach people wherever they may be. Her contributions continue to inspire others to find purpose within these public green spaces and develop resources that will serve communities for many years.

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