Urban gardens: Connecting marginalized youth to nature in their own backyards

My devotion as a plant ecologist reared me into human health disparities in low-income communities. Growing up as a first gen Mexicana in a low socioeconomic class, I preserved any barriers with the intention to give back to my community. Luckily, my current research on agricultural crops gave me the skill set necessary to educate elementary students on how to grow their own food. I have been able to intertwine two important aspects of my life: my thesis research and addressing food insecurity issues in my childhood neighborhood with the goal to create a systemic change within my own backyard.