What is the “Sierra Thrives” Facilitation Learning Series?

Join us for an exciting 5-week learning series by BeWell in Nature, in collaboration with the Sierra Club - Angeles Chapter and Military Outdoors! We are grateful for funding from Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors program to offer this experience to our esteemed community, to include veterans, members of military families, and all who are interested.
 
This series is designed for Outing Facilitators and nature stewardship leaders in both the military community and outdoor community, at large, to strengthen tools and strategies that create inclusive, emotionally safe, and supportive outdoor experiences to last a lifetime. 
 
Participants will cultivate deeper connections with nature - to include the natural force within ourselves and beyond in the external world. Participants will also foster a stronger commitment to nature stewardship through meaningful community building. Participants will be equipped with practical skills to foster restorative and transformative nature outing experiences centered around nurturing healthy relationships for social and emotional wellness
 
Each in-person outing learning session combines knowledge sharing with experiential activities, to include scenario simulations, self and group reflections, peer learning and team building activities. Together, we will co-create a dynamic learning hub that will enrich each other’s nature stewardship journey. 
 
This program is free to participants. Participants will be awarded a $300 stipend upon completion of Sierra Thrives in recognition of your time and investment in energy Participation in this learning series will satisfy some of the prerequisites for the Sierra Club’s Outing Leaders Training requirements. We hope this Learning Series will be a catalyst to becoming an Outings Leader for the benefit of designing trips that reflect your interest and passions, guiding conversations on local conservation issues, and bringing the community together. 
 

Why?

 
Why is the Sierra Club committed to the Sierra Thrives Learning Series? The Sierra Club aims to inspire community efforts to protect and enhance the quality of our natural environments and human habitats. Recognizing that active stewardship and advocacy for nature requires personal connection, we encourage individuals to explore their own relationships with the natural world. By fostering these connections, we believe we can collectively promote community healing for both people and the planet and continue to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth. 
 
Research indicates that spending time in nature offers numerous health benefits, such as boosting mood, reducing stress, and providing a sense of purpose. Outdoor leaders play a vital role in guiding children, families, adults, and more to access these benefits. This learning series is designed to enhance outing leader’s capacity to curate restorative experiences in nature for our greater community. Outdoor leaders are to enrich their Emotional Wellness Kit, enabling them to cultivate experiences that harness nature's restorative properties, while also encouraging deeper environmental stewardship.
 
Core Program Focus Areas  - C.A.R.E.S.
Participants can look forward to building confidence and strengthening skills in the following five learning pillars: 
 

Audience

 
This leadership learning series is for individuals over the age of 18 years old who live in the Los Angeles or Orange County area. 
 
In partnership with the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter and the Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors program, we welcome the participation of veterans and those with connections to veterans, including family members, partners, leaders, service providers, and more. Military Outdoors strives to connect this community to healing outdoor experiences. We also welcome people with diverse lived-experiences and backgrounds, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, LGBTQ+ identified people, and beyond.
 
This learning series is ideal for outdoor leaders (current and aspiring) who want their outings to be more reflective, grounding and restorative for their communities, by supporting those who have ever wondered how to: 
  • foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for diverse people/communities?
  • help others connect to nature’s awe and wonder?
  • lead mindfulness experiences that support the mind, body, and heart connection?
  • respond to campfire conversation that feels emotionally vulnerable and/or heavy?
  • balance and model self-care with a group’s larger vision?
 
If you’re curious about these things, this learning series is for you! APPLY TODAY.
 
Disclaimer: As a Learning Series, Sierra Thrives is committed to enhance the capacity of folks who would like to further their knowledge of social and emotional matters. Although this may intersect with the lived mental and emotional experiences of participants, Sierra Thrives is not a therapeutic program or group; it does not replace any form of therapy for participants. We encourage applicants to seek out whatever support may be of help to them alongside this learning series. 
 
Participation Guidelines to Cultivate a Supportive Experience for All: 
 
  1. Participants are to be willing and interested in sharing the power of nature with community, and upholding the Sierra Club core values of anti-racism, collaboration, balance, transformation and justice. 
  2. Participants are either part of the military/veteran community or are excited to learn about ways you can support this community in nature.
 

Application Process

 
Our second cohort has the capacity for 15 participants. We are looking to bring together participants that are fully committed to this Learning Series, and who share the vision we have for a thriving, restorative, and inclusive learning experience. 
 
Application Timeline:  
 
Applications are currently open and will remain so until Monday, August 5th. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and priority will be given to applicants who submit by this date. We understand there may be barriers to completing applications by this date. Please reach out to us for support if needed. 
 
Applications will be reviewed, and selection confirmation will be announced during the week of August 26th and we will ask for confirmation of participation by September 9th.

APPLY HERE

Timeline: Five bi-weekly Saturdays starting September 21st through November 16th 2024, from 9 AM to 2 PM for in-person learning sessions.
 

Session Summaries

Meet the Trainers:

Rene Melara
Rene Melara, LCSW is a clinical social worker with 10 years of experience working alongside the Santa Monica community in various capacities, such as supporting families living in affordable housing developments, case management of under-resourced youth and families, and providing mental health services. Rene is a volunteer with Latino Outdoors as an Outings Leader, where he has organized various outings to help connect families to the outdoors. In this role, he has collaborated with various organizations in the LA region, including Sierra Club, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and Community Nature Connection. He is also a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles County and has been matched with his Little Brother for almost 7 years.

Growing up, Rene did not feel a strong connection to nature due to the various barriers that low-income communities of color face in urban settings. When he moved to Los Angeles in 2013, he began to experience the awe and wonder of taking in the sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes of our beautiful natural world. These experiences changed him in profound ways by helping him heal from the stress of daily life while also helping him find meaning, purpose, and community. Because of these gifts that nature provided him, he feels a strong responsibility to help protect it and help others experience the life-changing benefits that he did almost a decade ago.

Sunny Cho
Sunny Cho (she, her, 그녀) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and also a CA-endorsed Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist. Since emigrating from South Korea during her early teen years, Sunny has always had a heart and passion to serve the community. After serving in different non-profit organizations, she began her career to focus on the social and emotional health of children and families. For the past decade, she served in different community mental health settings, providing assessments and clinical services to diverse community members. Sunny recently has founded Wonder Well Therapy, providing holistic mental health services to support families on their journey towards wellness and wonder.

It’s truly ironic how the pandemic unexpectedly acted as a catalyst for Sunny and her family to develop a deeper relationship with nature. Growing up as a latchkey child of an immigrant family, Sunny had limited opportunities to explore the natural world. Through this newfound relationship, Sunny, her veteran husband, and 3 children experienced profound layers of healing, joy, and valuable life lessons. Becoming a student and a steward of nature has sparked a desire to bridge the gap between people’s urban upbringing and the wonders of the natural world, and to protect it for our future generation.

Jenny Lopez
Jenny López (she, her, ella). Of Ñuu Savi - Mixteco, Indigenous cultural roots, I attribute the guidance of my Elders as foundational to my connection with Nature - within myself and the world around me. For more than a decade, I have supported young children and families throughout L.A. as a bilingual licensed clinical social worker and a California - endorsed Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist. I am passionate about encouraging healthier child, family and community relationships that embody care, compassion and joy. I am the Founder of Rooted in Nature Therapy, an ecotherapy mental health practice committed to the healing of adults impacted by adverse childhood experiences and trauma, with Mother Nature as our collective guide and teacher.

Milestones in my journey as a nature steward and advocate include my participation in the Rising Leaders Fellowship (2023) and the Nature for All Leadership Program (2017). In 2021, I became a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation - focused on curating inclusive, emotionally safe, and supportive Public Land community outings that inspire deeper connections to ourselves, each other, and our broader community. Most recently, I connected with nature stewards from diverse walks of life, while completing an Ecotherapy Certificate Program through the Earthbody Institute.

Graciela Rougier
Graciela Rougier, LCSW, PPSC, (she, her, ella) Graciela is an experienced bilingual therapist with a strong dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion through education. Her passion for equity and inclusion led her to serve with Americorps City Year, where she provided support to help students thrive in both their academic and personal lives. Over the years, Graciela has taken on various impactful roles, including children's social worker, college counselor, licensed therapist, supervisor, and program developer. Currently, she operates a private practice, offering vital mental health services to transitional-aged youth in LA County.

Graciela's deep connection with the land stems from witnessing nature's inequities in low-income neighborhoods. Having grown up in Echo Park, CA, she discovered nature in her own backyard, shaping her strong belief in providing access and inclusivity for everyone.