Meet Lucero! One of our newest Bilingual Johnson Creek Interns, and a high school student from Portland, Oregon. JCWC’s Bilingual Nature Johnson Creek program provides a paid opportunity to youth interns from historically under-served, and immigrant & refugee communities located in the Johnson Creek watershed. In this case, Lucero joins our team of interns thanks to a partnership developed with Rose CDC through their Lents Youth Initiative (LYI) program. Lucero loves, “having great laughs with friends and… going to school everyday to learn new things.” We are thrilled to welcome her.
Bilingual Johnson Creek interns plan and host a bilingual nature-based event held in two languages! They also design and develop outreach material like brochures and flyers to promote their event. This process introduces them to natural areas in Johnson Creek and Greater Portland, and provides them with career skills and experience in working with non-profits, event planning, outreach, and more. The events they plan foster a sense of place, connection to nature, and feelings of home for communities that may otherwise not get the chance.
Lucero is currently planning a nature walk to be held at Leach Botanical Garden, where participants will learn about native plants and some of the many ways plants communicate with each other and with other species. Thank you to the Collins Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, and the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District for funding this program and making our bilingual internships and events possible!
Watch for updates on the 3 upcoming bilingual nature events planned and hosted by our amazing Bilingual Johnson Creek Interns over the next few months. If you are interested in learning more about JCWC’s efforts to engage with ALL of the communities and populations that make our watershed so unique, read about another Bilingual Intern, Abdulahi, HERE or our Equity Action Plan HERE.