Sergio Avila is a conservation scientist, educator, and wildlife researcher and tracker based in Tucson, Arizona. He is the first regional Local Outdoors Coordinator for the Sierra Club. He is dedicated to designing and implementing local strategies and projects that increase opportunities for people to connect with nature and ignite their commitment for protecting the planet and to each other. Sergio was born in Mexico City and has over 20 years working on local and regional conservation efforts along the US-Mexico borderlands. He works with species from jaguars to butterflies - in real life. He also loves trail running, gardening and spending time outside. We met up with him to run in the desert and to visit the border wall, it was powerful and transformative, we think this episode is too.
Note: This is an English summary episode of our conversation with Sergio. You can listen to the full conversation in Spanish in the previous episode in the podcast feed.
For more information about Faith, Addie and The Trail Ahead go to https://www.thislanddoc.com/thetrailahead.
Discussed in this episode:
Faith E. Briggs:
Welcome to The Trail Ahead, conversations at the intersection of race, environment, history and culture. We are your hosts, Faith and Addie.
Addie Thompson:
We invite people from all walks of life to talk about real, difficult, complicated, and necessary things. The kinds of conversations that can lead to tangible transformation. We bring on folks from all walks of life to have real, authentic, messy dialogue that can lead to tangible change.
Addie Thompson:
Our guest this week is Sergio Avila. He is a biologist, a teacher, a runner, and one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever encountered.
Faith E. Briggs:
We spoke to Sergio in Spanish because it was important to him to make this episode accessible to the Latinx community and other Spanish-speakers. You can find the full conversation in Spanish on our podcast feed, please check it out and help us get it to more folks by sharing. This is a short English-language summary of that interview -- because we didn’t want you to miss out on all the interesting things he had to say. We talked about the importance of the words we use in the fields of environmentalism and natural sciences, about traditional ecological knowledge, jaguars, the desert, the border wall, and much more.
Sergio Avila:
Mi nombre es Sergio Ávila. Soy de origen mexicano. Nací en la Ciudad de México en 1972.
Faith E. Briggs:
Sergio started by telling us a bit about himself. He was born in Mexico City, and currently lives on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham and Pasqua Yaqui Nations, in what is now known as Tucson, Arizona. He says he identifies as an immigrant, a Latinx person, and a runner.
Addie Thompson:
He grew up in the state of Zacatecas, and started learning English when he was 12. He pointed out how many words in English, in the environmental context, do not translate into Spanish. Like outdoors, hiking, backpacking, or wilderness.
Sergio Avila:
Tienen conceptos parecidos como exploración o caminata, y Wilderness podría ser como área silvestre o área natural, pero realmente esos conceptos en español no definen lo que se definen en inglés.
Faith E. Briggs:
Sergio’s own journey within the world of conservation has moved from a focus on research science to a focus on education. This change is very much related to the ways in which the language and culture of the work often felt isolating and exclusive.
Addie Thompson:
He says, many times, many people, especially white people, ask 'How can I help? There is a lot of racism and there is a lot of oppression and I want to help. How I can help?' His answer? ”Stop saying Public Lands. Please talk about indigenous peoples in the present tense.” He says these may seem like small or superficial actions, but it is a way to start.
Faith E. Briggs:
We also spoke to Sergio about his experience being a tracker of wild animals. Specifically, the jaguars he has always loved and studied.
Sergio:
Una cosa de el rastreo, muchas veces pensamos que significa encontrar una huella y seguirla hasta que llegues al animal. En el sentido de rastreo que yo hago es encontrar una huella, identificará qué animal es y encontrar más evidencia que me describa una actividad.
Addie Thompson:
He explained how jaguars have a lot to do with cultural identity for different indigenous groups in Mexico, Central America and South America. When he graduated from university, his first job was living in a remote area of the Sierra Madre in Mexico, which is known as the Sierra Tarahumara (tah-rah-oo-ma-rah). The Sierra Tarahumara is where the largest indigenous group in Mexico lives: the Rarámuri or Tarahumaras. They’re famous runners. He lived there for eight months camping, hiking, researching and learning with the communities. And one of the things he learned was tracking, identifying: who is this animal? Where does it go? Do I eat it or does it eat me?
Faith E. Briggs:
He told us that tracking is a traditional science, and incorporates traditional ecological knowledge, developed by indigenous groups in many places in order to identify their food or to identify where there was danger. It’s like a language that has been carried on for thousands of years. He says in Arizona, he can track large cats like cougars, or bears, or racoons, and figure out where they are moving to, what they’re eating, or if they live in groups.
Addie Thompson:
One thing tracking shows him is animal migration patterns, which are so often interrupted by something we experienced when we first met Sergio in person: the wall, along the Mexico-U.S. border.
Faith E. Briggs:
Very often when talking about the border, people forget that this physical barrier also interrupts the free movement of animals. And by preventing this movement, it prevents ecological processes from continuing. It prevents LIFE from taking its course. For example, animals are cut off from water or food sources. Or water cant get through. Or maybe there aren’t enough males and females in a particular area to form family groups.
Addie Thompson:
Sergio then talked about animal migration from north to south, and also from low elevation to higher elevations: which is the best way to avoid heat. When the animals can’t do this, they can’t adapt to climate change. This impacts animals and plants that have lived on what is now the U.S.-Mexico border for millions of years: groups of bison and bighorn sheep that naturally migrate between our countries.
Faith E. Briggs:
I told Sergio how it was strange to me, sometimes, to feel like conservationists care more when talking about animals struggling to cross the border, than when they talk about people. And whether he’d encountered that sentiment or used that fact at times to get people to pay attention. He had an interesting response…
Sergio Avila:
Una cosa general es el idioma, los términos, las cosas de las que hablamos, por lo menos yo, dependen de quién es mi audiencia, dependen de quién esté escuchando. Entonces es una cosa a tener en mente...
Faith E. Briggs:
He agreed with my sentiment and said the language he uses depends on who he is talking to. He told us, the problem was the idea that we have to separate nature from human beings and that to protect nature, human beings have to leave nature alone. Historically, that was the belief in conservation. and what happened was only those deemed to protect nature can visit or use these beautiful natural sites. He brought up the example of John Muir, who was very inspiring in terms of nature preservation, but was also deeply racist towards indigenous people. It’s important to remember that if John Muir is the father of the national parks, that means he’s also the father of removing indigenous people from those sites. And along with the people, the loss of all that human wisdom, the traditional ecological knowledge, stories, ceremonies, food, and medicine that were cultivated in those spaces.
Addie Thompson:
This led us to how Sergio transitioned away from conservation work, and more towards teaching. He talked about how important it is for him to mentor young people, and as a scientist of color himself, to be a model for young people of color who can see themselves reflected in him and his career.
Sergio Avila:
Y me gusta mucho que haya en especial niños y niñas, gente joven que vean un reflejo de sí mismos en mí. Es una responsabilidad y también es un gusto el poder ser ser un mentor de jóvenes.
Faith E. Briggs:
To learn more about Sergio, follow him on instagram at @sergio_concolor. You can also find more links to his work in the show notes.
Addie Thompson:
Oh my God, Faith! This is the last episode in Season One of the Trail Ahead!
Faith E. Briggs:
I know, I can’t believe it!
Addie Thompson:
What an amazing first season we’ve had, and thanks to all of you for tuning in and sharing these conversations far and wide.
Faith E. Briggs:
Don’t worry - we’ll be back with more very soon! We’ve learned so much about podcasting in this first season
Addie Thompson:
So much!
Faith E. Briggs:
We so appreciate all of your support. We’d love to hear from you and learn about what else you want to discuss in Season 2. Send us a note! We’re on instagram @trailahead_podcast.
Addie Thompson:
The Trail Ahead is created and hosted by us, Faith E. Briggs and Addie Thompson. It’s produced by LWC. Elizabeth Nakano is our producer. This short episode was produced by Paulina Velasco. Jen Chien is our editor. Sound design and theme music by Cedric Wilson.
Faith E. Briggs:
Our Podcast art is by Shar Tuiasoa, check her out on instagram @punkyaloha. Special thanks to our amazing teams from Merrell: Adam Koepfer, Lauren King, Will Pray, and from Patagonia: Bianca Botta, Sasha Teninty, Clare Gallagher and Whitney Clapper.
Addie Thompson:
Big Thanks also to Trail Butter and Outdoorsy. And thanks to our team on the visual side Tyler Wilkinson-Ray, Fred Goris and Monica Medellin.Thank you for listening and for spreading the word. Follow The Trail Ahead on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. See you next season.