In the fourth episode of season 5, Monica sits down with Daisy Prado, community organizer and founder of City Gurlz Hike. City Gurlz Hike is a collective that creates spaces for Black, Latina, Indigenous women and non-binary folks to feel at home on the trails across San Francisco.

Through the support of a single Mom who made sure Daisy had the chance to explore, volunteer, and ask questions, Daisy grew up with a love of the outdoors. Although her life took many turns that pulled her away from the outdoors, Daisy shares how that foundation helped her build a path back to the wonder of nature. Recently certified as a California Naturalist, Daisy explains how training, community and representation shaped her journey and how she plans to continue bringing along others with her. Daisy’s path reminds us that the seeds of curiosity planted and supported in childhood can grow into movements that connect people to each other, to land, and to lasting stewardships.

Daisy Prado

Daisy Prado is a storyteller and advocate for outdoor equity, dedicated to championing women of color in San Francisco. With a deep commitment to community change and equity, Daisy has worked with numerous organizations at the intersection of reproductive and environmental justice. In 2022, she founded City Gurlz Hike, an urban hiking and community program designed to create spaces for Black, Indigenous, and women of color to connect, play, and thrive in San Francisco's outdoors and beyond. City Gurlz Hike has brought together hundreds of women from San Francisco and the Bay Area, connecting them to local parks, camping adventures, and visits to State Parks.

Socials:

Personal Instagram - @thedaisyprado

City Gurlz Hike Instagram - @citygurlzhike

In the third episode of Season 5, host Monica Carcamo-Binetti settles into the Save the Redwoods League office on a chilly San Francisco morning with guest Rahsaan McFarland II. Rahsaan is a Stanford undergraduate, artist, photographer, and emerging science communicator whose early encounters with coast redwoods opened a path toward environmental justice.

Rahsaan co-founded Nurtured by Nature to help Black students feel welcome in the outdoors and build community in wild spaces. He’s weathered a whirlwind from the start of his federal service. Hired by the Environmental Protection Agency’s water division supporting tribal water infrastructure, to then be let go by an administrative shift, then rehired, only to be placed on administrative leave. Yet, Rahsaan continues to show up for people and places. Rahsaan continues partnering with tribal communities in the Sierras this summer and is shaping a future in water and environmental protection while finishing his degree.

This episode is a message of hope filled with reflections of belonging. You’ll hear how community, access, and days spent beneath giants can spark a lifetime of awe and stewardship.

About our guest

Rahsaan McFarland Ⅱ (he/him) is an artist-photographer, science communicator, and civil servant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As an undergraduate, he studies the oceanic and atmospheric circulation of the Earth system, with a particular fascination for coastal fog. He enjoys transcribing his maritime adventures (and curiosities) into creative nonfiction — most affectionately, an anthropomorphic portrait of San Francisco’s ever-changing, ever-erratic, ever-enigmatic marine layer, Karl the Fog. In his leisure time, Rahsaan delights in walking old-growth redwood trails, skateboarding around Stanford campus, and meandering the squiggly spine roads of his favorite scenic byway, Skyline Boulevard (CA-35).

Find him on social media: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn

In the second episode of Season 5, host Monica Carcamo-Binetti heads out into the field to kick-off California State Parks Week beneath the soaring redwoods of Samuel P. Taylor State Park. This is the 4th year of celebration and the first time in a redwood park!

Guided by this year’s tagline “This Is Where You Live”, Monica captures stories from District Superintendent Maria Mowrey, Interpreter Kourtney Boone, community champion Kirstie Dutton, and a band of wide-eyed kids fresh off a hike. Plus we also had a surprise visit from a key player that helps shape California State Parks in a big way! Each guest revealed how a single park visit can have a long lasting impact and even reshape a life. By the episode’s end, you’ll feel the quiet of ancient trunks, the laughter echoing through the redwoods, and know that these giants are really in our own backyards. Your own neighborhood trailhead is just a pair of sneakers away, no fancy gear required.

Read more about our guests here.