Bobbie Berumen
It seems Saguaro National Park really is the hidden gem of Tucson, Arizona. Tucked away behind the Tucson Mountains, it can be a tricky place to get to, and tough to know about it unless you’re introduced to it.
Bobbie Berumen first heard of the park during a ranger presentation given while she worked as a teacher for the Sunnyside School District. It was during that presentation that she became interested in the park and its potential opportunities. As a teacher her summers were free and she had always found it hard to get jobs during the school’s hiatus. After the ranger’s presentation she spoke to him about possible summer jobs and he introduced her to the Next Generation Ranger Corp program.
The program was created by Friends of Saguaro and Saguaro National Park in early 2015 to enable young people from the community to explore the different careers NPS has to offer through immersive internships. Berumen, 30, began her journey in the program doing an internship in environmental education. She then moved into the interpretation field and recently became a federal employee working as an Interpretive Ranger at the park.
“During college I hiked around Tucson, but I never got into national parks and it’s crazy to think I didn't even know we had one here,” Berumen said. “And that's after living here my whole life.”
It’s crazy when we realize the impact that certain moments have on our lives, to think her entire life changed because a ranger did outreach, that’s incredible. That phenomenon is something that parks like Saguaro are starting to see and exploit. If they reach out to underserved communities as often as they do affluent ones, then their message will be able to open doors to people from all over town and of diverse backgrounds. Berumen experienced that firsthand, and her being at the park has given her the opportunity to advocate not only for more people of color in the parks, but more women too.
“When I started, I didn't see a lot of faces like mine, the parks system is still a very white and male dominated space,” Berumen said. “But that hasn’t discouraged me, if anything it’s motivated me more.” Berumen knows how difficult it can be to enter a space where nobody looks like you, and she wants to work hard to be a part of the change that makes more and more people feel comfortable and welcomed in the parks. “It feels really good to be here and represent my community,” she said. “Hopefully I can be a role model to visitors when they come and they can look at me and say, ‘oh she's a Ranger too!’”
Fear is a big driver in people not creating new experiences for themselves. Berumen recalls a time when she still worked as a teacher and asked her students what they did that summer. “I always got answers like, ‘I went to the mall’ or ‘I went to Peter Piper'," she said. “People are so used to their bubbles and it's either a lack of money for gas or they're afraid to see what's beyond the city, to get lost and not know something.”
Berumen hopes she can make a difference by educating the public on outdoor spaces and showing her community that there are multiple ways to recreate outdoors. Her family is used to making carne asada in the park, going to “el campo” or even taking the ATV’s out for a joyride. Even though you can’t take an ATV out on Saguaro NPS trails, you can cook and take a big group out to nature to be together. “I hate saying it this way, but hiking is a predominantly white sport,” Berumen said. “Something that I’ve seen recently that gives me hope is other people realizing it can be really fun, that it's not expensive and totally worth it.” She wants to be able to introduce her community to different ways of recreating and show them which spots they can barbeque at and where the big group sites are to get together as a family.
- Berumen and the desert -
The desert had taught Berumen a lot, she learns more and more about it every day and sees her job in the park as another part of her education. “They’ve been studying the cacti here for over 100 years and there is still so much to learn,” she said. “I love that part of the job, and honestly it doesn’t even feel like a job to me.”
Saguaro National Park has two districts, one in the East and another in the West. Berumen is stationed in the West District and there she loves going to Valley View, a short nature trail that leads to a lookout over a large valley. “Every time I go it feels like walking into a garden where I'm just surrounded by the Sonoran Desert,” Berumen said.
It seems Saguaro National Park really is the hidden gem of Tucson, Arizona. Tucked away behind the Tucson Mountains, it can be a tricky place to get to, and tough to know about it unless you’re introduced to it.
Bobbie Berumen first heard of the park during a ranger presentation given while she worked as a teacher for the Sunnyside School District. It was during that presentation that she became interested in the park and its potential opportunities. As a teacher her summers were free and she had always found it hard to get jobs during the school’s hiatus. After the ranger’s presentation she spoke to him about possible summer jobs and he introduced her to the Next Generation Ranger Corp program.
The program was created by Friends of Saguaro and Saguaro National Park in early 2015 to enable young people from the community to explore the different careers NPS has to offer through immersive internships. Berumen, 30, began her journey in the program doing an internship in environmental education. She then moved into the interpretation field and recently became a federal employee working as an Interpretive Ranger at the park.
“During college I hiked around Tucson, but I never got into national parks and it’s crazy to think I didn't even know we had one here,” Berumen said. “And that's after living here my whole life.”
It’s crazy when we realize the impact that certain moments have on our lives, to think her entire life changed because a ranger did outreach, that’s incredible. That phenomenon is something that parks like Saguaro are starting to see and exploit. If they reach out to underserved communities as often as they do affluent ones, then their message will be able to open doors to people from all over town and of diverse backgrounds. Berumen experienced that firsthand, and her being at the park has given her the opportunity to advocate not only for more people of color in the parks, but more women too.
“When I started, I didn't see a lot of faces like mine, the parks system is still a very white and male dominated space,” Berumen said. “But that hasn’t discouraged me, if anything it’s motivated me more.” Berumen knows how difficult it can be to enter a space where nobody looks like you, and she wants to work hard to be a part of the change that makes more and more people feel comfortable and welcomed in the parks. “It feels really good to be here and represent my community,” she said. “Hopefully I can be a role model to visitors when they come and they can look at me and say, ‘oh she's a Ranger too!’”
Fear is a big driver in people not creating new experiences for themselves. Berumen recalls a time when she still worked as a teacher and asked her students what they did that summer. “I always got answers like, ‘I went to the mall’ or ‘I went to Peter Piper'," she said. “People are so used to their bubbles and it's either a lack of money for gas or they're afraid to see what's beyond the city, to get lost and not know something.”
Berumen hopes she can make a difference by educating the public on outdoor spaces and showing her community that there are multiple ways to recreate outdoors. Her family is used to making carne asada in the park, going to “el campo” or even taking the ATV’s out for a joyride. Even though you can’t take an ATV out on Saguaro NPS trails, you can cook and take a big group out to nature to be together. “I hate saying it this way, but hiking is a predominantly white sport,” Berumen said. “Something that I’ve seen recently that gives me hope is other people realizing it can be really fun, that it's not expensive and totally worth it.” She wants to be able to introduce her community to different ways of recreating and show them which spots they can barbeque at and where the big group sites are to get together as a family.
- Berumen and the desert -
The desert had taught Berumen a lot, she learns more and more about it every day and sees her job in the park as another part of her education. “They’ve been studying the cacti here for over 100 years and there is still so much to learn,” she said. “I love that part of the job, and honestly it doesn’t even feel like a job to me.”
Saguaro National Park has two districts, one in the East and another in the West. Berumen is stationed in the West District and there she loves going to Valley View, a short nature trail that leads to a lookout over a large valley. “Every time I go it feels like walking into a garden where I'm just surrounded by the Sonoran Desert,” Berumen said.
Bobbie Berumen first heard of the park during a ranger presentation given while she worked as a teacher for the Sunnyside School District. It was during that presentation that she became interested in the park and its potential opportunities. As a teacher her summers were free and she had always found it hard to get jobs during the school’s hiatus. After the ranger’s presentation she spoke to him about possible summer jobs and he introduced her to the Next Generation Ranger Corp program.
The program was created by Friends of Saguaro and Saguaro National Park in early 2015 to enable young people from the community to explore the different careers NPS has to offer through immersive internships. Berumen, 30, began her journey in the program doing an internship in environmental education. She then moved into the interpretation field and recently became a federal employee working as an Interpretive Ranger at the park.
“During college I hiked around Tucson, but I never got into national parks and it’s crazy to think I didn't even know we had one here,” Berumen said. “And that's after living here my whole life.”
It’s crazy when we realize the impact that certain moments have on our lives, to think her entire life changed because a ranger did outreach, that’s incredible. That phenomenon is something that parks like Saguaro are starting to see and exploit. If they reach out to underserved communities as often as they do affluent ones, then their message will be able to open doors to people from all over town and of diverse backgrounds. Berumen experienced that firsthand, and her being at the park has given her the opportunity to advocate not only for more people of color in the parks, but more women too.
“When I started, I didn't see a lot of faces like mine, the parks system is still a very white and male dominated space,” Berumen said. “But that hasn’t discouraged me, if anything it’s motivated me more.” Berumen knows how difficult it can be to enter a space where nobody looks like you, and she wants to work hard to be a part of the change that makes more and more people feel comfortable and welcomed in the parks. “It feels really good to be here and represent my community,” she said. “Hopefully I can be a role model to visitors when they come and they can look at me and say, ‘oh she's a Ranger too!’”
Fear is a big driver in people not creating new experiences for themselves. Berumen recalls a time when she still worked as a teacher and asked her students what they did that summer. “I always got answers like, ‘I went to the mall’ or ‘I went to Peter Piper'," she said. “People are so used to their bubbles and it's either a lack of money for gas or they're afraid to see what's beyond the city, to get lost and not know something.”
Berumen hopes she can make a difference by educating the public on outdoor spaces and showing her community that there are multiple ways to recreate outdoors. Her family is used to making carne asada in the park, going to “el campo” or even taking the ATV’s out for a joyride. Even though you can’t take an ATV out on Saguaro NPS trails, you can cook and take a big group out to nature to be together. “I hate saying it this way, but hiking is a predominantly white sport,” Berumen said. “Something that I’ve seen recently that gives me hope is other people realizing it can be really fun, that it's not expensive and totally worth it.” She wants to be able to introduce her community to different ways of recreating and show them which spots they can barbeque at and where the big group sites are to get together as a family.
- Berumen and the desert -
The desert had taught Berumen a lot, she learns more and more about it every day and sees her job in the park as another part of her education. “They’ve been studying the cacti here for over 100 years and there is still so much to learn,” she said. “I love that part of the job, and honestly it doesn’t even feel like a job to me.”
Saguaro National Park has two districts, one in the East and another in the West. Berumen is stationed in the West District and there she loves going to Valley View, a short nature trail that leads to a lookout over a large valley. “Every time I go it feels like walking into a garden where I'm just surrounded by the Sonoran Desert,” Berumen said.