June 22, 2025 • 29 mins
Segment 1: Amber Banda talks with Grace Ortiz and William Dozal from the Extreme Weather Task Force. They are having a Summer Safety and Fan Drive, collecting new fans to distribute households that meet the criteria for a new fan including the elderly, low income houses with young children, disabled persons.
For more information on if you qualify for a free fan call 211 or find them on Facebook at Extreme Weather Task Force.
Fan donations can be dropped off at any local firestation in El Paso and Horizon. You can also send corporate and monetary donations to:
APS Silver Star Board
401 E. Franklin Ave.
El Paso, TX 79901
For a list of cooling centers, tips to stay cool, warning signs of overheating and more, visit elpasotexas.gov
Segment 2: Amber Banda talks with Kathia Gonzalez, Developmental Director for Frontera Land Alliance. They talk about the importance of not only protecting but learning about our Chihuahua Desert. Kathia explains land trusts and what areas they are working to conserve, as well as the process of how to start conserving certain areas. She also talks about various community partners they work with and how the community can come together to help save these lands for future generations.
They also have FREE hikes and summer events for famiies! Follow them on social media for up-to-date events. For more information go to fronteralandalliance.org
Listen to the El Paso Public Forum on the free iHeart app! New episodes drop every Sunday at 8am. Know what good is happening in your community and how YOU can be a part of it.
For more information on if you qualify for a free fan call 211 or find them on Facebook at Extreme Weather Task Force.
Fan donations can be dropped off at any local firestation in El Paso and Horizon. You can also send corporate and monetary donations to:
APS Silver Star Board
401 E. Franklin Ave.
El Paso, TX 79901
For a list of cooling centers, tips to stay cool, warning signs of overheating and more, visit elpasotexas.gov
Segment 2: Amber Banda talks with Kathia Gonzalez, Developmental Director for Frontera Land Alliance. They talk about the importance of not only protecting but learning about our Chihuahua Desert. Kathia explains land trusts and what areas they are working to conserve, as well as the process of how to start conserving certain areas. She also talks about various community partners they work with and how the community can come together to help save these lands for future generations.
They also have FREE hikes and summer events for famiies! Follow them on social media for up-to-date events. For more information go to fronteralandalliance.org
Listen to the El Paso Public Forum on the free iHeart app! New episodes drop every Sunday at 8am. Know what good is happening in your community and how YOU can be a part of it.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host, Amberbanda,
and today we have two people from the Extreme Weather
Task Force. We have Grace Orthis, Extreme Weather Taskforce Chair.
She is also part of Adult Protective Services. She's the
community engagement specialist. Grace, thank you for being here with
me today. Thanks for inviting me definitely. And we also
(00:43):
have William Dosal. He's the co chair to the Extreme
Weather Task Force. William, thank you for being here with
me as well.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Thank you really blessed to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Of course, so Extreme Weather Task Force, if you've not
lived in Al Passo in one of our summers, get
ready because it does get extremely hot. So what we're
going to be talking about today is not only their
summer safety.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
And fan drive.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
We're also going to be giving us some education on
hot weather safety and some other things. So Grace, I'm
going to start with you the Extreme Weather Task Force.
What is this organization?
Speaker 5 (01:17):
So, it's an organization made up of about twenty agencies
with a passion to help individuals in the community. We
focus on older adults, persons with disabilities, small children who
have no air or inadequate air. Our goal is to
educate them on how to say safe and healthy one. Two,
we do a fan drive in the community. And lastly,
we provide that free fan to those individuals so that
(01:40):
we can prevent death.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
And why those groups the.
Speaker 5 (01:43):
Most vulnerable and the most affected by the extreme heat,
and so we really want to avoid any type of
death in our community. And our goal is to have
zero deaths, and we've been failing in that part. But
together we're going to make an impact.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
What do you mean you've been failing in that part.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
Last year we had seventeen heat related deaths and I'm
assuming they were all older people. Then you know, for
a time, that's what it was. It was all older
adults who were being affected by the extreme heat and
small children. Now we're looking at the whole age spectrum.
Last year we had seventeen deaths and it was two
twenty one years old, and then there was one eighty
eight years old.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Oh wow, two.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Twenty one. And then the last one that passed away
was an eighty eight year old manica. And so we're
seeing that it's all ages that are being affected now.
So we need to be diligent. We need to take
care of one another. We need to be out there
talking about it, reminding people to drink water, stay indoors,
don't do your gardening at noon. I'm out and about
(02:43):
and I see people at parks at lunchtime. It's one
hundred and five and they're jogging. I know, so you know, hello,
don't do that. Then do it in the morning, do
it at night. We don't want you to get sick.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I think a part of it and maybe we can
talk about this a little bit later when we talk
about the safety tips is people feel like if they're sweating,
they're losing weight or they're burning calories. In reality, ei
they're just really doing a disservice to their body. It'd
be much smarter to go jogging or work out indoors
where it's air conditioned, or you know in the parts
of the day where it's not so hot. But we
are going to talk about that in a bit. First,
(03:12):
what I want to get to and I'm going to
start with you on this, William, the Summer Safety and
Fan Drive.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
What is what is this event going on?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
What's a great event that we actually come together as
partners with the community and take donations. We ask the
community to help us out because we're non profit organization
and that's where we come in. A fan you know,
could fit save a life. That's really what we promote
a lot because it's just you know, anything that really
can help to cool down their houses. There's been houses
(03:43):
that we've begun that we've taken fans and that they
have no AC or there's just the circulation on the
on the house is not properly ventilated. Swamp coolers are
not working as they used to be for so people
knowing educating them that you know, with some colors, if
you keep everything closed, they need circulation. So they have
(04:04):
to have a fan out there to kind of pull
out the air put fresh air instead of having humidity
inside the house as well. So that's where we were
kind of that project is really to get fans and
donate them to the fire stations and that's where we
pass them out to the community.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Now, do the fans have to be new.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yes, preferly new, because we want to make sure they work.
We don't want to have issues providing one to the
community and they calling and the fan doesn't work, So
we want to make sure that they're brand new, making
sure that the people are getting adequate fans.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And do they have to be of a certain size
or a certain type of fan.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
No, we take any size of fans. Some individuals like
small fans, some individuals like the box fan, some individuals
like the stand fan. So some individuals they get the
opportunity to pick some of them sometimes, but we tend
to just take any fans. It helps us.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Yeah, And I remember I used to live in some
apartments on McCurry and they had the community swamp cooling,
I guess is what it's called. And my husband and
I used to have to shower before we went to
bed just to stay cool. And now we've gotten spoiled
with the refrigerated air. But for people that have grown
up and I'll pass so with the luxury to have
had air conditioning and refrigerated air and not know what
it's like to go to sleep when it's you know,
(05:20):
one hundred and ten degrees at eight pm. This initiative
is very important again because it does target the vulnerable population,
like you said, the kids, the elderly and so grace.
Where can people donate these fans?
Speaker 5 (05:32):
So we're asking the community to donate a fan save
a life, and you can drop it off at any
of your local fire stations here and I'll pass so
and in Horizon, the fire apartment is our partner and
they know what to do, so they'll accept it from you.
And then once we get that registration, we call you.
We try to either do a distribution event or set
up an appointment to pick up or deliver if you
(05:52):
just can't get out of your house, okay, And our
goal again is to help you so that you can
won't get sick number one or you won't pass away
from the heat.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And so if people wanted to get one of these
donated fans, I guess they, well, you can go to
al Paso, Texas dot gov. They're going to tell you
about the cooling centers, which we're going to talk about next.
But there's the phone number two one one. How does
that work? So that's our registration hub. All you got
to do is dial two one one and then once
you get in there, it'll ask you option one English
(06:22):
or Spanish. And then when you they answer, let them
know I want a register for a fan.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
They'll take their necessary information and then that registration will
come to me. And I will tell you that each
and every registration I contact, I let them know. I
want to know what's really happening, because you'd be surprised.
Everybody has a story, yeah, and a lot. I have
a lot of older adults who I call in.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
There's more.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
There's more other than.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Just needing just needing a fan.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Sometimes they need food, sometimes they need paid they don't
have electricity, but they want a free fan. And I'm
trying to figure out, how are you going to turn
on your fans?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
So I think if someone's gonna go over there with
a palm leaf.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
So I'm hoping that what I do when I do
older adults is I try to see if they're neglected
in any way, and then I'll refer it over to
Adult Protected Services because we have funding and we're able
to help either turn on your swamp cooler. If we
walk in and we see you need food, pay your
electric bill, pay your medications. Sometimes there's a situation there
(07:16):
we're able to help and provide that fan and some.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And then you know when people go and they contact
you for one of these fans, is what is the
criteria that needs to be met to qualify for a
free fan.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
All we ask is if you're an older adult age
sixty five or older, you have a chronic disability, diabetes,
highlot pressure, and illness of some kind cancer Parkinston's. It
just depends because you're very much affected by the heat.
And then lastly, small children under the age of four.
Those are the three individuals that are most affected. And
so I'll have that conversation do you have cooling in
(07:49):
your home? And a lot of them will say, look,
I have a swamp cooler, it's just not working. We'll
get you a free fan. And a lot of them
will say, I have no cooling. Then we'll get you
your free fan.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, definitely, because few degrees will definitely help. And if
you're just joining us. I have two members of the
Extreme Weather Task Force. I have Grace orthis Extreme Weather
Task Force Chair. She is also with Adult Protective Services
as their community engagement specialist. And we have William Dosile,
co chair to the Extreme Weather Task Force. Now, William,
(08:20):
I'm going to start with you before actually we get
into the cooling centers and the locations and what those involved.
What are some hot weather safety tips that you can
give to the community.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
The times, your times are you're actually out there, it's important.
I believe it's twelve to four. It's the highest peak
of heat, twelve to four. Try to avoid it out there.
Just the heat is just austin hydrate as well, Drink
lots of water, loose clothes, try to avoid being out
there working. Like grace is set right now. You know,
(08:55):
the people are guarding out there, you know, I especially
individuals have to work in the construction. You know. It's
the hydration is really important. A lot of people drink
a lot of sweet stuff or caffeinated uh drinks, and
that's what affects people.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
The red bulls and the celsius. And I'm guilty of
that too. So like if you're going to drink those
energy drinks, make sure that you drink some water, some electrolytes,
you know, keep some some popsicles, or like even the
sugary gatorades. I think water is like your best bet.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
And then I had a lady one time, we're dropping
off a fan and she's like, she was making a smoothie,
so fruit smoothie, and she's like, this is what gets
me cool and everything like that. So but she was
really excited that we were there for giving her a
fan and everything like that. But went into our house,
all their lights were off. You know, it's just to
keep the heat down. Yes, so you know, and that
fans' is like, oh, this is definitely going to help us,
(09:45):
you know. So there's a lot of factors you can
you guys can use, you know, color of clothing. You
where like clothing like you mentioned right now, you like
riding a bike and.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
I like wearing black. Yes, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
That's that's you know, you got to be careful when
you're out there because you really it's if you're not
hydrating correctly at that point, you know, your body just
starts reacting without you knowing.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
So you got to be.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Aware of your the the actual symptoms of you know, headaches, vomitings.
You know, if you start feeling that, make sure you
get in the cooling center that you know passos offered.
But that's that's really make sure you're paying attention to
your body.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Yeah, and even some things like if you if you
eat fruit that could be very hydrating as well. And Grace,
do you have anything to add as far as some
safety tips and as well symptoms to look out for
if you are dehydrating.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
So symptoms if you start experiencing a bad headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea,
you just don't feel well, lightheadedness. Uh, sometimes it can
be even a fever because you're just really heated. Then
you need to seek immediate medical attention. Don't wait, don't wait.
I had a mom call me two years ago and
(10:59):
she's like, I want to donate fans my son. I
think he's twenty three. He was out in Red Sands
on a weekend, just having fun all day, and he
came home that night and he, I guess he didn't hydrate,
severe heat exhaustion. He went into kidney failure. Actually it
took three months for them to be able to reverse it,
thank god god. But for them, that was a wake
(11:21):
up call. Something as simple as you taking care of
I'll drinking water and making sure you know the signs
and if you're going to want to have fun, you know,
do it the right way, be safe and know what
you're doing. But he had a good that was a
positive outcome forany Yeah. The other side is we asked
the community to be a buddy to a senior on
those really hot days that we're experiencing right now. We
(11:41):
all have a connection to somebody who's older. So you
call him in the morning, call him at lunch, call
him in the evening, check on them, remind them take
your medication, do you need anything, And I run an
errand for you, and remind them to drink water because
they have a tendency of coffee and soda, yeah, and
no water. They just don't like it. But you remind
them to do that and keep an eye on them
(12:01):
and help them. Don't leave them in a car. So
a lot of people do that. Let me take you
with me, and they'll leave you in the car. And
so the funny part about that, And I don't know
why we see children in a car and we see
our pets in the car. People call nine one one
right away. Why don't we call nine one one one?
We see an elderly person in the car.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
We don't.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
We just assume they're okay. Yeah, and so we need
to start doing that a little bit more. Again, I
just want to avoid anybody passing away. It's a tragic
death that could have been avoided. So let's do our part.
Let's make a difference in our community.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
And also, I think some of the other symptoms that
I had seen in my daughter once it's you know,
flushed cheeks, lethargy, they stop sweating because they don't have
the hydration, you know, the they don't have the ability
to sweat because they are dehydrated, and some things that
when I back in my personal training days, I would
tell clients that didn't drink enough water. Make it a
habit associated with something else. So say you answer two
(12:57):
emails an hour, you know a lot of us you know,
way more, but have a cup of water there, or
put a little reminder or put a timer on your phone,
or carry with you know, your brand new excuse to
get a Stanley cup or a jar, you know, a
water jug, like, just carry that around with you. And
again people forget and then they get these symptoms and
they have headaches. It's like, oh, it's because I didn't sleep.
It's because of this, and they could actually be dehydrated,
(13:19):
and I believe it's like only two percent dehydrated and
you start to feel the effects of it. So if
you're low on energy, you're not sleeping well. And get this, guys,
the more hydrated you are, the better your hair is,
the better your skin is, the better you look. So
you know, if anything, at least dring more water for
vanity reasons. But there you go, you know, so the
donation drop off again. Local fire stations you can do
(13:39):
a Google search. Google search for your local fire stations
in al Paso and Horizon. You can call two one
one for the brand new fan go to al Paso,
Texas dot govs to find the cooling centers and website
on Facebook the Extreme Weather Task Force. Now, Grace, before
we leave, can you let us know what are these
cooling centers and how can you know they can find?
(13:59):
The Alpasto texts stuck up?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
But what are they?
Speaker 5 (14:01):
We're really excited this year because we made a change.
The county and the city of al Paso are really
all about supporting us, and so the cooling centers are
not going to be open all summer long. It used
to be just during those really really hot days and
then we stop and then we wait for another extreme
hot days three days in a row. Not anymore, they're
all open the whole time. There's some in the rule,
(14:23):
there's some in the city. It can be a mall,
it can be the library. Yeah, it can be anywhere
where you you know, if you don't, you know, can't
help it, go into Starbucks. Just go in there, get cool.
We don't want you to get sick. But we're really
excited that they're opening up the whole summer. So google it,
go out there. We're very appreciative of the al Paso
(14:44):
City of al Paso and the County of al Paso.
They are now opening them up the whole summer.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
So again, El Paso, Texas dot gov. It's literally what
it sounds like. You go in there, you cool down,
because again, zero deaths is the goal this year for
people dying, you know, from extreme heat. So again, Grace
and William, thank you so much for being here with
me today.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
Thank you, and remember one fan can save a life.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Welcome to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host, Amberbanda,
and today we have Gatia Gonzalez. She is the development
director for Fronta Land Alliance. Katia, thank you for talking
with us today.
Speaker 6 (15:22):
Hi Amber, thank you so much for having me. We're
we're very happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yes, so, no, you're you're a veteran already for the
Al Paso Public Forum. You've been on last year and
I know that you guys have a lot going on,
a lot of things that you've been working on since
last year. But first, can you tell the listening audience
paint a picture of what is the Fronta Land Alliance.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
Yeah, So, the Ftena Alliance is a nationally accredited nonprofit
land trust organization. So our mission is to protect forever
open natural spaces, working farms, branches, watersheds, and wildlife in
the northern Huawan Desert. And we have a very unique
way of doing that because we're an urban land trust.
(16:03):
So here in Paso Casco County, we do that via
environmental education, sharing knowledge to the community about why the
Chuaa Dessert is important. But also outside of a passive county,
we are working with private landowners to conserve their ranches
their properties because it's part of our mission. So land
(16:24):
conservation and everything that comes with because when you conserve land,
you protect water resources, you can reach charge to acroifers,
you protect wildlife the Florida, the fauna, but you also
provide people with physical and mental well being by just
being exposed to nature.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Explain a little bit more physical and mental wellbeing because
a lot of people are.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Out there there.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I mean, if you really think about it, you can
see why it would be beneficial to conserve these lands.
And there's maybe the opposite place where people like, well
there's the benefit of doing this to the land or
doing this to the land. But again we're talking about
conserving these lands and these ranches and these properties and
mental well being. Elaborate more on that.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
Yeah. So here in Opasso, we have two properties that
we manage, so it's owned by the city and epy
Water and from data manages and by managing it means
that we do trail maintenance or we put and install
educational signages, but also we implement or maybe like supplement
it's a better word, guided hikes with different environmental topics.
(17:26):
They can learn about pollinators or geology and also to
leave no trades to stay on trail. So we do
leave no trades. We do environmental topics, but just being
exposed to nature, being outdoors, it helps with the stress,
the everyday stress, you know, the anxieties are increasing in
(17:46):
our in our society. You're you're active because you're hiking,
and some people just do it for the step and
that's totally okay. But being exposed to nature, it not
only helps you with your steps, but you're also getting
that exercise, but you're also learning about different environmental topics
from local migration of hummmbirds or our local geology or
(18:10):
our water research. Plus it also helps connect our youth
to nature now that we're mostly do stuff indoors, you know.
And it's wonderful because it's something that can be done
with family. So you can bring your family and everybody's
exposed to nature to our desert and can learn and
share something from that.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
That would definitely be me trying trying to get in
my steps in these hikes. I mean, it's so wonderful
to be outside. And there's a term that I recently learned,
and I'm sure you're familiar with it.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
It's called grounding.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I don't know if I believe it has to be
done barefoot, but to me, it's still kind of grounding
if you're able to just be outside and you know,
get that sunlight and aside from you know, hikes and
being outside in these lands that you are helping to conserve.
I want you to paint a picture there was no
fronta land alions pretend that there was not anyone to
(19:04):
conserve these lands, and these lands were no longer here.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
What would that look like?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
So we can help people kind of get a better
idea of the work.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
That you do. Yeah, what would it look like like if.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
These lands weren't conserved and you know, they were allowed
to just be destroyed.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
A great example is are One of the properties that
we own behind Wholefoods is Wrestler Arroyo or the techha
Waquin Nature Preserve, but rest Are Canyon most popularly known.
So if that was then preserved, that arroyo will be
a bunch of houses, a bunch of houses in an royo.
(19:43):
And what an arroyo does it helps bring that velac
city of the water that comes from the mountains, you know,
so there's no flooding, and also it recharges the aquifers.
So without that, without an arroyo, you wouldn't have crystal
bush or ocotillo or have a nas or coyotes. You
don't have space to walk or trail run, and you'll
(20:06):
just have more and more houses and no space too
to be around nature. It's not that we're against development,
We're totally not, but yeah, just being smarter of where
we want to develop stuff, because we all need houses,
we all need schools and stuff, but we also need
this nature preserves to help our community well being and
(20:29):
the ecosystems.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Will be yes, exactly. And you mentioned something about the
way it directs water, so like if you know, if
you weren't conserving these lands, possibly there could be a
lot more worse flooding in some of those areas. Am
I correct in saying that?
Speaker 6 (20:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, just because when you have roads and
pavement and cement, there's there's nothing that can filtrate the
water down to our aquifers versus if you have sand, right,
sound like absorbs the water versus concrete and payment you
just like make kind of like a medium to transport
(21:04):
the water instead of having that go to our aquifers
to replenish those for our needs.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Basically, so, what is the process of conserving a land
look like like you know, how do you choose what
areas are ideal for conservation or protection and what does
that process kind of look like. I'm assuming it's not overnight.
It's probably like a very long process.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
Yeah, So that's a process that our executive director is
more heavily involved with. But it's essentially is lots of
conversations with the landowner, whether that's a public or a
private landowner, just having these conversations about if they want
to conserve their land, and we do that through a
legal agreement, a voluntarily legal agreement, which is called a
(21:52):
conservation easement. So basically that's a conversation between the land
trust that's going to hold a conservation so I will
be from Data and the private landowner. Then you just
have lots of conversations of how to consider your property.
If you want to restrict certain areas of your let's
say a ranch because you want your grandkids to have
(22:14):
maybe a house further there, and the rest is going
to be protected, yeah, and the rest is going to
be protected imperfectuity. So just lots of conversations. But something
that comes with that too is funding from DA is
a nonprofit, so in order for us to keep conserving land.
(22:35):
We need to seek diverse funding funding sources, whether that's
through local business sponsorships or private foundations through grants, and
most of our funding is from individual community member donations
because land conservation is expensive. It takes money to help
(22:57):
conserve these properties, to can tenure or environmental education program
as well.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Of course everything nonprofits need two things, funding and volunteers.
And if you're just tuning Gonzalez, she is the development
director for Frontera Land Alliance. Now one of the more
popular correct me if I'm wrong, One of the more
popular areas that you have helped to conserve are the poppies,
(23:23):
the you know, the on the side of the of
the mountain. Is that correct? What is that land called?
Speaker 6 (23:28):
Yeah? Castle Range? So Captain Arrangee National Monument was established
in March of twenty twenty three to the power of
President Biden Antiquities Act. But it was a community effort
decades decades have community effort from local nonprofits and community members,
but also region and nationwide of just wanting to have
(23:52):
this six thousand plus I believe acres of desert land
protected and I finally became a national monument two years ago.
So we're very happy to be a part of that.
But it's like everything, it's the community. The community is
the one that comes together and rallies year over year
because they want to see their tual and desert conserve,
(24:16):
you know. And we're so happy and proud to have
a national monument here in our city and we can
continue seeing those poppies for years to come.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
I remember my cousin, Jessica Mata, she's also a board
member on Florida Fronta landa Line. She's how I learned
about the organization, and I remember her posting about in
twenty twenty three. I can't believe it's already been two
years when you know that was considered, you know, marked
safe as you can say. So you had mentioned that
the community comes together, other nonprofits come together for these projects.
(24:46):
What are some other nonprofits that you all work alongside with.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
Yeah, we have worked with lots of lot of nonprofit
for environmental education. We partner with Insights a lot for
Kasna Range. We actually work heavily with the State Parks,
but also with Opasso Community Foundation and with these Leta
and Pueblo. Just very diverse, and I think that's what
(25:11):
makes it special, you know. And what strengthened the power
of the community, having different voices, different entities, being local, regional,
from different perspectives and backgrounds. That makes this possible, the
work that we do possible.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Yeah, yeah, now, and that's amazing and thank you for
the work that you all do. And speaking of which,
you also have hikes. Now, summer's here. People are trying
to parents like myself are trying to figure out what
the heck to do with these kids, and there are
some hikes and events you have going on in the summer.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
Can you tell the people a little bit more about that.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Yes, So we have a great collaboration with UTEB Clog Department,
which is basically in tandem with what we're trying to
do of sharing environmental education, but with them it's also
heavily on the geosciences. So through that we have our
great intern Nadia that's going to be hosting weekly summer
hikes from breaking in different topics. It can be just
(26:09):
like geology, a teenic drive or learning about native plans.
So keep a look on our social media for that. That's
the best way to our SVP and stay up to
date on our summer. But summer is always packed with
a bunch of guided, fun guided hikes and for the fall,
(26:31):
we're working on hopefully soon releasing a schedule because we're
going to have for our first time and intercession camp
for middle school kids about environmental education and outdoor recreation
skills should just be better stewards of our chu Oun desert.
So we're just on the planning phase for that. But
hopefully you guys can see on our social media or
(26:53):
website of posting for safety date and we can share
more more about that. That's going to be in collaboration
with our local state parks WeGo and Franklin. And it's
free of cost.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Okay, so the hikes are free of cost, including the
weekly hikes that are going on in the summer.
Speaker 6 (27:09):
Yeah, fro Deta, all of Fronda programming is free of cost.
That's why we need to secure fundings through whether that's
donations or grants, because we don't charge the public for
our environmental education programming.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
And these hikes.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I'm assuming because I just had an interview with the
Extreme Weather Task Force there, do you have an idea
of what day of the week they would be and
if they're in early morning or you know, late afternoon
when it's not as hot.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Yeah, it's yeah, summer, it's tough here new passive and
basically for like most of our Affronteta being dens medin
host any programming during the summer, it was like our
slow season. But last year when we started this partnership
with YouTube, we saw a good return in people wanting
to keep exploring the DEAs are in the summer. So
(27:59):
it's going to be either our early morning or in
the evening, and that can vary. It can be a
Thursday evening, or it can be a Saturday morning or
a Sunday morning. But yeah, we have to be super
careful and keep our community safe. So that's GESU. Are
you going to be early morning or ear late evening?
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, And again to keep up with their schedule, you
can go to Fronteta Land Alliance on Facebook, on Instagram,
it's ep Underscore, Fronteta Land Alliance and Katya.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
What is your website?
Speaker 6 (28:30):
So our website is www dot from Data land Alliance
dot org.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
There you go, and of course that information will also
be up at our power one oh two Sunday ninety
nine point nine and ninety six point three. K Hey Country,
Instagram and Facebook. Just search, do a search for those
those radio stations. And Katya, before we leave, I just
want to ask you, is there anything else that you
would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 6 (28:53):
We hope to see you at a guided hike soon. Yeah,
thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Yeah, and it's you know there, what is it called,
you know, gram worthy? You know all the hikes. If anything,
you can go out and get some really nice pictures,
get some vitamin D. It's good for your health, it's
good for your skin, it's good for the planet. So again, Gatya,
thank you so much for being here with us today.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
Thank you, Albert, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Passo. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(29:32):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host, Amberbanda,
and today we have two people from the Extreme Weather
Task Force. We have Grace Orthis, Extreme Weather Taskforce Chair.
She is also part of Adult Protective Services. She's the
community engagement specialist. Grace, thank you for being here with
me today. Thanks for inviting me definitely. And we also
(00:43):
have William Dosal. He's the co chair to the Extreme
Weather Task Force. William, thank you for being here with
me as well.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Thank you really blessed to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Of course, so Extreme Weather Task Force, if you've not
lived in Al Passo in one of our summers, get
ready because it does get extremely hot. So what we're
going to be talking about today is not only their
summer safety.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
And fan drive.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
We're also going to be giving us some education on
hot weather safety and some other things. So Grace, I'm
going to start with you the Extreme Weather Task Force.
What is this organization?
Speaker 5 (01:17):
So, it's an organization made up of about twenty agencies
with a passion to help individuals in the community. We
focus on older adults, persons with disabilities, small children who
have no air or inadequate air. Our goal is to
educate them on how to say safe and healthy one. Two,
we do a fan drive in the community. And lastly,
we provide that free fan to those individuals so that
(01:40):
we can prevent death.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
And why those groups the.
Speaker 5 (01:43):
Most vulnerable and the most affected by the extreme heat,
and so we really want to avoid any type of
death in our community. And our goal is to have
zero deaths, and we've been failing in that part. But
together we're going to make an impact.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
What do you mean you've been failing in that part.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
Last year we had seventeen heat related deaths and I'm
assuming they were all older people. Then you know, for
a time, that's what it was. It was all older
adults who were being affected by the extreme heat and
small children. Now we're looking at the whole age spectrum.
Last year we had seventeen deaths and it was two
twenty one years old, and then there was one eighty
eight years old.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Oh wow, two.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Twenty one. And then the last one that passed away
was an eighty eight year old manica. And so we're
seeing that it's all ages that are being affected now.
So we need to be diligent. We need to take
care of one another. We need to be out there
talking about it, reminding people to drink water, stay indoors,
don't do your gardening at noon. I'm out and about
(02:43):
and I see people at parks at lunchtime. It's one
hundred and five and they're jogging. I know, so you know, hello,
don't do that. Then do it in the morning, do
it at night. We don't want you to get sick.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I think a part of it and maybe we can
talk about this a little bit later when we talk
about the safety tips is people feel like if they're sweating,
they're losing weight or they're burning calories. In reality, ei
they're just really doing a disservice to their body. It'd
be much smarter to go jogging or work out indoors
where it's air conditioned, or you know in the parts
of the day where it's not so hot. But we
are going to talk about that in a bit. First,
(03:12):
what I want to get to and I'm going to
start with you on this, William, the Summer Safety and
Fan Drive.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
What is what is this event going on?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
What's a great event that we actually come together as
partners with the community and take donations. We ask the
community to help us out because we're non profit organization
and that's where we come in. A fan you know,
could fit save a life. That's really what we promote
a lot because it's just you know, anything that really
can help to cool down their houses. There's been houses
(03:43):
that we've begun that we've taken fans and that they
have no AC or there's just the circulation on the
on the house is not properly ventilated. Swamp coolers are
not working as they used to be for so people
knowing educating them that you know, with some colors, if
you keep everything closed, they need circulation. So they have
(04:04):
to have a fan out there to kind of pull
out the air put fresh air instead of having humidity
inside the house as well. So that's where we were
kind of that project is really to get fans and
donate them to the fire stations and that's where we
pass them out to the community.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Now, do the fans have to be new.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yes, preferly new, because we want to make sure they work.
We don't want to have issues providing one to the
community and they calling and the fan doesn't work, So
we want to make sure that they're brand new, making
sure that the people are getting adequate fans.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And do they have to be of a certain size
or a certain type of fan.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
No, we take any size of fans. Some individuals like
small fans, some individuals like the box fan, some individuals
like the stand fan. So some individuals they get the
opportunity to pick some of them sometimes, but we tend
to just take any fans. It helps us.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Yeah, And I remember I used to live in some
apartments on McCurry and they had the community swamp cooling,
I guess is what it's called. And my husband and
I used to have to shower before we went to
bed just to stay cool. And now we've gotten spoiled
with the refrigerated air. But for people that have grown
up and I'll pass so with the luxury to have
had air conditioning and refrigerated air and not know what
it's like to go to sleep when it's you know,
(05:20):
one hundred and ten degrees at eight pm. This initiative
is very important again because it does target the vulnerable population,
like you said, the kids, the elderly and so grace.
Where can people donate these fans?
Speaker 5 (05:32):
So we're asking the community to donate a fan save
a life, and you can drop it off at any
of your local fire stations here and I'll pass so
and in Horizon, the fire apartment is our partner and
they know what to do, so they'll accept it from you.
And then once we get that registration, we call you.
We try to either do a distribution event or set
up an appointment to pick up or deliver if you
(05:52):
just can't get out of your house, okay, And our
goal again is to help you so that you can
won't get sick number one or you won't pass away
from the heat.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And so if people wanted to get one of these
donated fans, I guess they, well, you can go to
al Paso, Texas dot gov. They're going to tell you
about the cooling centers, which we're going to talk about next.
But there's the phone number two one one. How does
that work? So that's our registration hub. All you got
to do is dial two one one and then once
you get in there, it'll ask you option one English
(06:22):
or Spanish. And then when you they answer, let them
know I want a register for a fan.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
They'll take their necessary information and then that registration will
come to me. And I will tell you that each
and every registration I contact, I let them know. I
want to know what's really happening, because you'd be surprised.
Everybody has a story, yeah, and a lot. I have
a lot of older adults who I call in.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
There's more.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
There's more other than.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Just needing just needing a fan.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Sometimes they need food, sometimes they need paid they don't
have electricity, but they want a free fan. And I'm
trying to figure out, how are you going to turn
on your fans?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
So I think if someone's gonna go over there with
a palm leaf.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
So I'm hoping that what I do when I do
older adults is I try to see if they're neglected
in any way, and then I'll refer it over to
Adult Protected Services because we have funding and we're able
to help either turn on your swamp cooler. If we
walk in and we see you need food, pay your
electric bill, pay your medications. Sometimes there's a situation there
(07:16):
we're able to help and provide that fan and some.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And then you know when people go and they contact
you for one of these fans, is what is the
criteria that needs to be met to qualify for a
free fan.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
All we ask is if you're an older adult age
sixty five or older, you have a chronic disability, diabetes,
highlot pressure, and illness of some kind cancer Parkinston's. It
just depends because you're very much affected by the heat.
And then lastly, small children under the age of four.
Those are the three individuals that are most affected. And
so I'll have that conversation do you have cooling in
(07:49):
your home? And a lot of them will say, look,
I have a swamp cooler, it's just not working. We'll
get you a free fan. And a lot of them
will say, I have no cooling. Then we'll get you
your free fan.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, definitely, because few degrees will definitely help. And if
you're just joining us. I have two members of the
Extreme Weather Task Force. I have Grace orthis Extreme Weather
Task Force Chair. She is also with Adult Protective Services
as their community engagement specialist. And we have William Dosile,
co chair to the Extreme Weather Task Force. Now, William,
(08:20):
I'm going to start with you before actually we get
into the cooling centers and the locations and what those involved.
What are some hot weather safety tips that you can
give to the community.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
The times, your times are you're actually out there, it's important.
I believe it's twelve to four. It's the highest peak
of heat, twelve to four. Try to avoid it out there.
Just the heat is just austin hydrate as well, Drink
lots of water, loose clothes, try to avoid being out
there working. Like grace is set right now. You know,
(08:55):
the people are guarding out there, you know, I especially
individuals have to work in the construction. You know. It's
the hydration is really important. A lot of people drink
a lot of sweet stuff or caffeinated uh drinks, and
that's what affects people.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
The red bulls and the celsius. And I'm guilty of
that too. So like if you're going to drink those
energy drinks, make sure that you drink some water, some electrolytes,
you know, keep some some popsicles, or like even the
sugary gatorades. I think water is like your best bet.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
And then I had a lady one time, we're dropping
off a fan and she's like, she was making a smoothie,
so fruit smoothie, and she's like, this is what gets
me cool and everything like that. So but she was
really excited that we were there for giving her a
fan and everything like that. But went into our house,
all their lights were off. You know, it's just to
keep the heat down. Yes, so you know, and that
fans' is like, oh, this is definitely going to help us,
(09:45):
you know. So there's a lot of factors you can
you guys can use, you know, color of clothing. You
where like clothing like you mentioned right now, you like
riding a bike and.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
I like wearing black. Yes, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
That's that's you know, you got to be careful when
you're out there because you really it's if you're not
hydrating correctly at that point, you know, your body just
starts reacting without you knowing.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
So you got to be.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Aware of your the the actual symptoms of you know, headaches, vomitings.
You know, if you start feeling that, make sure you
get in the cooling center that you know passos offered.
But that's that's really make sure you're paying attention to
your body.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Yeah, and even some things like if you if you
eat fruit that could be very hydrating as well. And Grace,
do you have anything to add as far as some
safety tips and as well symptoms to look out for
if you are dehydrating.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
So symptoms if you start experiencing a bad headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea,
you just don't feel well, lightheadedness. Uh, sometimes it can
be even a fever because you're just really heated. Then
you need to seek immediate medical attention. Don't wait, don't wait.
I had a mom call me two years ago and
(10:59):
she's like, I want to donate fans my son. I
think he's twenty three. He was out in Red Sands
on a weekend, just having fun all day, and he
came home that night and he, I guess he didn't hydrate,
severe heat exhaustion. He went into kidney failure. Actually it
took three months for them to be able to reverse it,
thank god god. But for them, that was a wake
(11:21):
up call. Something as simple as you taking care of
I'll drinking water and making sure you know the signs
and if you're going to want to have fun, you know,
do it the right way, be safe and know what
you're doing. But he had a good that was a
positive outcome forany Yeah. The other side is we asked
the community to be a buddy to a senior on
those really hot days that we're experiencing right now. We
(11:41):
all have a connection to somebody who's older. So you
call him in the morning, call him at lunch, call
him in the evening, check on them, remind them take
your medication, do you need anything, And I run an
errand for you, and remind them to drink water because
they have a tendency of coffee and soda, yeah, and
no water. They just don't like it. But you remind
them to do that and keep an eye on them
(12:01):
and help them. Don't leave them in a car. So
a lot of people do that. Let me take you
with me, and they'll leave you in the car. And
so the funny part about that, And I don't know
why we see children in a car and we see
our pets in the car. People call nine one one
right away. Why don't we call nine one one one?
We see an elderly person in the car.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
We don't.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
We just assume they're okay. Yeah, and so we need
to start doing that a little bit more. Again, I
just want to avoid anybody passing away. It's a tragic
death that could have been avoided. So let's do our part.
Let's make a difference in our community.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
And also, I think some of the other symptoms that
I had seen in my daughter once it's you know,
flushed cheeks, lethargy, they stop sweating because they don't have
the hydration, you know, the they don't have the ability
to sweat because they are dehydrated, and some things that
when I back in my personal training days, I would
tell clients that didn't drink enough water. Make it a
habit associated with something else. So say you answer two
(12:57):
emails an hour, you know a lot of us you know,
way more, but have a cup of water there, or
put a little reminder or put a timer on your phone,
or carry with you know, your brand new excuse to
get a Stanley cup or a jar, you know, a
water jug, like, just carry that around with you. And
again people forget and then they get these symptoms and
they have headaches. It's like, oh, it's because I didn't sleep.
It's because of this, and they could actually be dehydrated,
(13:19):
and I believe it's like only two percent dehydrated and
you start to feel the effects of it. So if
you're low on energy, you're not sleeping well. And get this, guys,
the more hydrated you are, the better your hair is,
the better your skin is, the better you look. So
you know, if anything, at least dring more water for
vanity reasons. But there you go, you know, so the
donation drop off again. Local fire stations you can do
(13:39):
a Google search. Google search for your local fire stations
in al Paso and Horizon. You can call two one
one for the brand new fan go to al Paso,
Texas dot govs to find the cooling centers and website
on Facebook the Extreme Weather Task Force. Now, Grace, before
we leave, can you let us know what are these
cooling centers and how can you know they can find?
(13:59):
The Alpasto texts stuck up?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
But what are they?
Speaker 5 (14:01):
We're really excited this year because we made a change.
The county and the city of al Paso are really
all about supporting us, and so the cooling centers are
not going to be open all summer long. It used
to be just during those really really hot days and
then we stop and then we wait for another extreme
hot days three days in a row. Not anymore, they're
all open the whole time. There's some in the rule,
(14:23):
there's some in the city. It can be a mall,
it can be the library. Yeah, it can be anywhere
where you you know, if you don't, you know, can't
help it, go into Starbucks. Just go in there, get cool.
We don't want you to get sick. But we're really
excited that they're opening up the whole summer. So google it,
go out there. We're very appreciative of the al Paso
(14:44):
City of al Paso and the County of al Paso.
They are now opening them up the whole summer.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
So again, El Paso, Texas dot gov. It's literally what
it sounds like. You go in there, you cool down,
because again, zero deaths is the goal this year for
people dying, you know, from extreme heat. So again, Grace
and William, thank you so much for being here with
me today.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
Thank you, and remember one fan can save a life.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Welcome to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host, Amberbanda,
and today we have Gatia Gonzalez. She is the development
director for Fronta Land Alliance. Katia, thank you for talking
with us today.
Speaker 6 (15:22):
Hi Amber, thank you so much for having me. We're
we're very happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yes, so, no, you're you're a veteran already for the
Al Paso Public Forum. You've been on last year and
I know that you guys have a lot going on,
a lot of things that you've been working on since
last year. But first, can you tell the listening audience
paint a picture of what is the Fronta Land Alliance.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
Yeah, So, the Ftena Alliance is a nationally accredited nonprofit
land trust organization. So our mission is to protect forever
open natural spaces, working farms, branches, watersheds, and wildlife in
the northern Huawan Desert. And we have a very unique
way of doing that because we're an urban land trust.
(16:03):
So here in Paso Casco County, we do that via
environmental education, sharing knowledge to the community about why the
Chuaa Dessert is important. But also outside of a passive county,
we are working with private landowners to conserve their ranches
their properties because it's part of our mission. So land
(16:24):
conservation and everything that comes with because when you conserve land,
you protect water resources, you can reach charge to acroifers,
you protect wildlife the Florida, the fauna, but you also
provide people with physical and mental well being by just
being exposed to nature.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Explain a little bit more physical and mental wellbeing because
a lot of people are.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Out there there.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I mean, if you really think about it, you can
see why it would be beneficial to conserve these lands.
And there's maybe the opposite place where people like, well
there's the benefit of doing this to the land or
doing this to the land. But again we're talking about
conserving these lands and these ranches and these properties and
mental well being. Elaborate more on that.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
Yeah. So here in Opasso, we have two properties that
we manage, so it's owned by the city and epy
Water and from data manages and by managing it means
that we do trail maintenance or we put and install
educational signages, but also we implement or maybe like supplement
it's a better word, guided hikes with different environmental topics.
(17:26):
They can learn about pollinators or geology and also to
leave no trades to stay on trail. So we do
leave no trades. We do environmental topics, but just being
exposed to nature, being outdoors, it helps with the stress,
the everyday stress, you know, the anxieties are increasing in
(17:46):
our in our society. You're you're active because you're hiking,
and some people just do it for the step and
that's totally okay. But being exposed to nature, it not
only helps you with your steps, but you're also getting
that exercise, but you're also learning about different environmental topics
from local migration of hummmbirds or our local geology or
(18:10):
our water research. Plus it also helps connect our youth
to nature now that we're mostly do stuff indoors, you know.
And it's wonderful because it's something that can be done
with family. So you can bring your family and everybody's
exposed to nature to our desert and can learn and
share something from that.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
That would definitely be me trying trying to get in
my steps in these hikes. I mean, it's so wonderful
to be outside. And there's a term that I recently learned,
and I'm sure you're familiar with it.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
It's called grounding.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I don't know if I believe it has to be
done barefoot, but to me, it's still kind of grounding
if you're able to just be outside and you know,
get that sunlight and aside from you know, hikes and
being outside in these lands that you are helping to conserve.
I want you to paint a picture there was no
fronta land alions pretend that there was not anyone to
(19:04):
conserve these lands, and these lands were no longer here.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
What would that look like?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
So we can help people kind of get a better
idea of the work.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
That you do. Yeah, what would it look like like if.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
These lands weren't conserved and you know, they were allowed
to just be destroyed.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
A great example is are One of the properties that
we own behind Wholefoods is Wrestler Arroyo or the techha
Waquin Nature Preserve, but rest Are Canyon most popularly known.
So if that was then preserved, that arroyo will be
a bunch of houses, a bunch of houses in an royo.
(19:43):
And what an arroyo does it helps bring that velac
city of the water that comes from the mountains, you know,
so there's no flooding, and also it recharges the aquifers.
So without that, without an arroyo, you wouldn't have crystal
bush or ocotillo or have a nas or coyotes. You
don't have space to walk or trail run, and you'll
(20:06):
just have more and more houses and no space too
to be around nature. It's not that we're against development,
We're totally not, but yeah, just being smarter of where
we want to develop stuff, because we all need houses,
we all need schools and stuff, but we also need
this nature preserves to help our community well being and
(20:29):
the ecosystems.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Will be yes, exactly. And you mentioned something about the
way it directs water, so like if you know, if
you weren't conserving these lands, possibly there could be a
lot more worse flooding in some of those areas. Am
I correct in saying that?
Speaker 6 (20:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, just because when you have roads and
pavement and cement, there's there's nothing that can filtrate the
water down to our aquifers versus if you have sand, right,
sound like absorbs the water versus concrete and payment you
just like make kind of like a medium to transport
(21:04):
the water instead of having that go to our aquifers
to replenish those for our needs.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Basically, so, what is the process of conserving a land
look like like you know, how do you choose what
areas are ideal for conservation or protection and what does
that process kind of look like. I'm assuming it's not overnight.
It's probably like a very long process.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
Yeah, So that's a process that our executive director is
more heavily involved with. But it's essentially is lots of
conversations with the landowner, whether that's a public or a
private landowner, just having these conversations about if they want
to conserve their land, and we do that through a
legal agreement, a voluntarily legal agreement, which is called a
(21:52):
conservation easement. So basically that's a conversation between the land
trust that's going to hold a conservation so I will
be from Data and the private landowner. Then you just
have lots of conversations of how to consider your property.
If you want to restrict certain areas of your let's
say a ranch because you want your grandkids to have
(22:14):
maybe a house further there, and the rest is going
to be protected, yeah, and the rest is going to
be protected imperfectuity. So just lots of conversations. But something
that comes with that too is funding from DA is
a nonprofit, so in order for us to keep conserving land.
(22:35):
We need to seek diverse funding funding sources, whether that's
through local business sponsorships or private foundations through grants, and
most of our funding is from individual community member donations
because land conservation is expensive. It takes money to help
(22:57):
conserve these properties, to can tenure or environmental education program
as well.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Of course everything nonprofits need two things, funding and volunteers.
And if you're just tuning Gonzalez, she is the development
director for Frontera Land Alliance. Now one of the more
popular correct me if I'm wrong, One of the more
popular areas that you have helped to conserve are the poppies,
(23:23):
the you know, the on the side of the of
the mountain. Is that correct? What is that land called?
Speaker 6 (23:28):
Yeah? Castle Range? So Captain Arrangee National Monument was established
in March of twenty twenty three to the power of
President Biden Antiquities Act. But it was a community effort
decades decades have community effort from local nonprofits and community members,
but also region and nationwide of just wanting to have
(23:52):
this six thousand plus I believe acres of desert land
protected and I finally became a national monument two years ago.
So we're very happy to be a part of that.
But it's like everything, it's the community. The community is
the one that comes together and rallies year over year
because they want to see their tual and desert conserve,
(24:16):
you know. And we're so happy and proud to have
a national monument here in our city and we can
continue seeing those poppies for years to come.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
I remember my cousin, Jessica Mata, she's also a board
member on Florida Fronta landa Line. She's how I learned
about the organization, and I remember her posting about in
twenty twenty three. I can't believe it's already been two
years when you know that was considered, you know, marked
safe as you can say. So you had mentioned that
the community comes together, other nonprofits come together for these projects.
(24:46):
What are some other nonprofits that you all work alongside with.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
Yeah, we have worked with lots of lot of nonprofit
for environmental education. We partner with Insights a lot for
Kasna Range. We actually work heavily with the State Parks,
but also with Opasso Community Foundation and with these Leta
and Pueblo. Just very diverse, and I think that's what
(25:11):
makes it special, you know. And what strengthened the power
of the community, having different voices, different entities, being local, regional,
from different perspectives and backgrounds. That makes this possible, the
work that we do possible.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Yeah, yeah, now, and that's amazing and thank you for
the work that you all do. And speaking of which,
you also have hikes. Now, summer's here. People are trying
to parents like myself are trying to figure out what
the heck to do with these kids, and there are
some hikes and events you have going on in the summer.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
Can you tell the people a little bit more about that.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Yes, So we have a great collaboration with UTEB Clog Department,
which is basically in tandem with what we're trying to
do of sharing environmental education, but with them it's also
heavily on the geosciences. So through that we have our
great intern Nadia that's going to be hosting weekly summer
hikes from breaking in different topics. It can be just
(26:09):
like geology, a teenic drive or learning about native plans.
So keep a look on our social media for that. That's
the best way to our SVP and stay up to
date on our summer. But summer is always packed with
a bunch of guided, fun guided hikes and for the fall,
(26:31):
we're working on hopefully soon releasing a schedule because we're
going to have for our first time and intercession camp
for middle school kids about environmental education and outdoor recreation
skills should just be better stewards of our chu Oun desert.
So we're just on the planning phase for that. But
hopefully you guys can see on our social media or
(26:53):
website of posting for safety date and we can share
more more about that. That's going to be in collaboration
with our local state parks WeGo and Franklin. And it's
free of cost.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Okay, so the hikes are free of cost, including the
weekly hikes that are going on in the summer.
Speaker 6 (27:09):
Yeah, fro Deta, all of Fronda programming is free of cost.
That's why we need to secure fundings through whether that's
donations or grants, because we don't charge the public for
our environmental education programming.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
And these hikes.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I'm assuming because I just had an interview with the
Extreme Weather Task Force there, do you have an idea
of what day of the week they would be and
if they're in early morning or you know, late afternoon
when it's not as hot.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Yeah, it's yeah, summer, it's tough here new passive and
basically for like most of our Affronteta being dens medin
host any programming during the summer, it was like our
slow season. But last year when we started this partnership
with YouTube, we saw a good return in people wanting
to keep exploring the DEAs are in the summer. So
(27:59):
it's going to be either our early morning or in
the evening, and that can vary. It can be a
Thursday evening, or it can be a Saturday morning or
a Sunday morning. But yeah, we have to be super
careful and keep our community safe. So that's GESU. Are
you going to be early morning or ear late evening?
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, And again to keep up with their schedule, you
can go to Fronteta Land Alliance on Facebook, on Instagram,
it's ep Underscore, Fronteta Land Alliance and Katya.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
What is your website?
Speaker 6 (28:30):
So our website is www dot from Data land Alliance
dot org.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
There you go, and of course that information will also
be up at our power one oh two Sunday ninety
nine point nine and ninety six point three. K Hey Country,
Instagram and Facebook. Just search, do a search for those
those radio stations. And Katya, before we leave, I just
want to ask you, is there anything else that you
would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 6 (28:53):
We hope to see you at a guided hike soon. Yeah,
thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Yeah, and it's you know there, what is it called,
you know, gram worthy? You know all the hikes. If anything,
you can go out and get some really nice pictures,
get some vitamin D. It's good for your health, it's
good for your skin, it's good for the planet. So again, Gatya,
thank you so much for being here with us today.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
Thank you, Albert, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Passo. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(29:32):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com