Parks Powered by Volunteers
When: Saturday, September 13th, 2025, 10 am–2 pm
Where: Presidio of San Francisco; specific meeting location will be in the confirmation email after registering. Registration is required.
What can our plant relatives teach us about healing in a world that so often demands our exhaustion? In this gathering, we’ll begin by tending to the land at a local marsh, then move into a heart-centered ceremony led by Maribel Garcia, rooted in Indigenous traditions from Turtle Island, where fire serves as a sacred presence for prayer, release, and connection. As part of the ritual, we’ll imbibe in a warm tea infused with plants like rose and marigold—medicine for self-love, ancestral remembrance, and dreaming. This tea is a gift from the land and an offering to our bodies, our ancestors, and the collective. Guided by the teachings of Tricia Hersey’s Rest is Resistance, we’ll slow down together—resting, reflecting, and making space for emotional healing and collective liberation.
Maribel's Bio
Maribel Garcia (she/her/ella) is a queer Indigenous environmental educator and the founder of The Decolonized Kitchen, a workshop series exploring native plants, traditional cooking, and what it means to be a good guest on Native land. Her work centers Indigenous knowledge and invites participants into spaces of learning, connection, and care. Outside of workshops, Maribel is a proud cat mama to two, and often found serenading them with rancheras—much to their dismay.
Please contact community@parksconservancy.org with any questions. This event is open to all community members.
Accessibility details: This event is fully outdoors, so masks will be optional, but please tune into the others around you and mask up when approaching anyone else wearing a mask. For the land stewardship component of the day, please reach out to community@parksconservancy.org with accessibility needs and we can work together to fit your needs. All community members are welcome at this event.
Stay tuned for much more, and hope you can join us for this final session in our four-part Belonging in Nature: Queer and Trans Community Day summer series of collaborations with local artists, land stewards, and chefs to continue to deepen in relationship with ourselves, each other, and the natural world. While this particular summer series is ending, our queer & trans-centered programs will continue monthly!
Groups of five or more require special arrangements and must be confirmed in advance. Please review the List of Available Projects and fill out the Group Project Request Form.
The Golden Gate National Parks Volunteer Program is a cooperative parkwide effort of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service, and the Presidio Trust.
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