This spring, Governor Newsom will be appointing a member to an important agency: The California Coastal Commission, the only agency with the legal authority to enforce the public’s right to access the coast.

Marissa’s story is a reminder that we all have a connection to nature, but not all of us enjoy equal access to public lands— even those in our own backyard.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, conversations about policing are getting more attention than ever.

The other day, my daughter asked if it was safe for us to have a family beach day again. She immediately frowned when I reminded her that even if a nearby beach were open, we would have nowhere to park because the lots are closed. “So, only people close enough to walk there, get to go to the beach?” she asked. “How is that fair?”

A little under six years ago, a book was published that would make a profound impact on Lesford “Les” Duncan. It chronicled the first known all-African American expedition on Denali, the highest point in North America. When Les first read James Edward Mills’ The Adventure Gap, he saw himself in the book’s intersecting stories.

Ever since she could remember, Kim Moore Bailey was always more fascinated by her natural surroundings than the built environment. She fondly remembers spending hours in her backyard in Long Island, watching ants crawl across the patio. “I must’ve been about four years old,” Kim says. “I begged my mom for a cookie and promptly dropped it outside. Instead of scolding me, she brought a three-legged stool with a microscope and told me to wait and watch.”

“We believe all people are TreePeople. Anyone can plant a tree in their neighborhood, school or park. It’s truly an opportunity to bring people, including those who don’t all speak the same language, together to be a part of the solution.” — Cindy Montañez

“I’d like to see how the Center for Nature and Health can help mobilize the medical voice and leverage our unique role in advocating for park access. We need a shared understanding that access to parks and nature is ultimately a health equity issue.” — Dr. Nooshin Razani

Passage of AB 1680 "is a huge win. Forty years after the Coastal Act, we can finally say ALL beaches in California will be open to all Californians.” — Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš