April 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27

scape around me and the silence
within my hour-long Vipassana sit.
The metta bhavana (loving-kindness
meditation) at the end of the sit on
this morning had put me in a different
state of reflection about the ongoing
month of Ramadan, and I let the inner
voice dare to ask the questions:
" Could these five pillars have a new
meaning and metaphor in my work
in conservation, restoration, stewardship
and community building in
the parks? Where were they showing
up in my movement on the trails, in
what I was listening to amongst the
bird and wildlife habitat, the plants
I was interacting with, and the soil
and water I was touching? " I poked
my head out the window and saw an
almost full moon. If I had the lunar
calendar right, that meant that I had
a few more weeks before " Eid " to sit
with these new questions that had
graciously arrived.
The next day, I decided to share an
invitation with our park volunteers
and the larger Bay Area communities
for an Eid in the Parks program.
With a trace of nervousness and
hope, I wondered: " How would this
invitation be received? Would our
local Muslim communities attend
what was a habitat restoration volunteer
program to celebrate this intimate
festival outdoors? With all the
challenges around the recent Muslim
travel ban, would they feel welcomed
and belonged at this park site? "
I packed all these questions into
my backpack as I walked to lands
end, where I hoped to facilitate this
program. The new spring wildflowers,
and the familiar sounds and
sights of this dear park brought instant
comfort. The ocean, which
has been my mentor all these years,
calmed the mechanisms inside. My
feet touched the Coastal Trail, and
as I walked, I realized that the answers
to all these reflective thoughts
were already in nature. I smiled a
big smile, waved and greeted all my
usual human and more-than-human
friends, and walked back home with
clarity and readiness, waiting for the
moon to signal the celebration.
With a warm welcome, I invited
our participants to gather in a circle
and reflect, observe and listen along
with me while following the pillars:
Faith and Prayer - Where do I
see faith? When we start a long-term
restoration or conservation project to
bring back habitat for an endangered
species or address a climate change
challenge through a climate adaptation
project, I must have the faith
that our approach will work. Without
faith, there is no direction forward.
And faith often leads to prayer.
What is a prayer after all? To me,
it is bringing awareness to and sharing
positive and healing thoughts
for someone or something. In my
mother tongue, Gujarati, there is a
saying, " Dua ma yaad, " which literally
translates to " Remembering in
prayers. " Could parks become places
of prayer, where we gather to pray
for the health and well-being of all
beings and fill up our cups with faith?
Alms and Service - In an age of
so many competing demands from
life, our participants had chosen to
give their time to nurture the park
site. They were giving alms in the
form of care and attention to the
park, helping build a thriving habitat
for many other beings, thus
serving their souls too.
Fasting and Patience - If you
have had the opportunity to fast,
you know that the most important
thing it teaches you is patience.
Where does patience show up in
the parks? We grow plants from a
tiny seedling, but for it to bear fruits
and flowers it can take months,
sometimes a whole year. That requires
patience. Patience shows up
in every aspect of our stewardship
activities, from collecting seeds in
the plant nursery to growing the
saplings and then planting.
Pilgrimage and Migration - We
then bring our awareness to a different
form of pilgrimage and movement,
in many cases, not a chosen
one. Migration of birds and butterflies,
of wildlife, migration due to
climate change - climate refugees.
Migration, though beautiful and natural,
these days, is often for survival.
I observed the group and their
movements. I saw tears and empathy
in the circle. I saw connection to
the habitat restoration work we were
about to embark on. I saw a new way
of viewing the park and the land we
stood upon. I sensed a shift in energy.
We gathered our tools and proceeded
to perform the planned habitat
restoration work where I heard
participants continue to explore the
five pillars as they interacted with
the flowers and pollinators. My
heart was melting. They saw and
felt what I saw and felt: kinship.
How does a park get ready for 50
women in hijabs? Sharifa's question
continues to tug at my heart every
day. The park, made up of trees,
lakes, flowers and birds, doesn't
judge, differentiate, restrict or exclude
the way we as humans have
somehow learned to do. These species
we share this Earth with have
always been ready - it is us and the
infrastructure we require to feel safe
that need preparation. Can the practice
of kinship help us?
Editor's note: The person's name
mentioned in this story has been
changed for anonymity.
Yakuta Poonawalla is Associate Director of Community
Stewardship and Engagement at Golden Gate National Parks
Conservancy (ypoonawalla@parksconservancy.org).
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| Parks & Recreation
27
April 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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