Rentaro Shinohara leads a trail crew of young queer individuals under the Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps (ESCC) in the California mountains. This organization aims to include marginalized people in outdoor conservation efforts. The vision for ESCC, founded by Agnes Vianzon in 2016, arose from the need to change toxic cultures in traditional trail work environments. This initiative challenges the belief that the wilderness is an exclusionary space for specific communities, fostering a supportive environment for individuals who might have previously felt unwelcome.
"ESCC is one of several organizations in California working to fill the void left by recent federal staffing cuts of seasonal trail workers, and the only one with a core mission of getting people out there who have historically been excluded from the world of public land conservation."
"Complicating that thirst was a fear held by many marginalized people - that life in America's wild places was simply not meant for those like us."
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