Julia C. | Las Vegas, NV

Julia C. is a 40 year member of the Sierra Club of Southern California and member of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) for 15 years.

Why does wilderness matter to you?

The forest, lakes, rivers, canyons, vast ocean and desert are places of refreshment and to emerse in nature. They are places for restoration of body and soul and getting closer to nature.

Why does wilderness matter to your community?

Clean air, water and the esthetics of having natural surroundings of trees, flora and natural habitat in the community is overall beneficial and important for physical and mental health. Native habitat preservation helps to sustain the community in the urban landscape.

Share a story about a special experience you have had in wilderness.

Taking wilderness survival course I learned how to read a topographical map, use a compass, what food non-perishable foods to bring and what foods are available in the natural setting. I learned how to filter water from a stream to make it safe to drink. In the urban setting, I love to hear and watch the birds sing and fly around. I love to see the butterflies and ladybugs and colorful dragonflies. When I lived at the ocean I experienced the ionized ocean breeze and spotting dolphins or whales in the not too distant waters.

What are your hopes for the future of wilderness?

I am hoping and praying that " we the people" can thwart any and current rollbacks in the area of environmental protection of our clean waterways, oceans, forests, deserts, and mountains for future generations. Smarter more ecological urban planning needs to be implemented to make communities more walkable, more independent of industrialization of commercial food productions by have community gardens.