I’ll Go If You Go Podcast

Welcome to I’ll Go If You Go, a Save the Redwoods League podcast.

On I’ll Go If You Go, we have thought-provoking conversations with emerging environmental leaders from diverse backgrounds who explore and work in the outdoors. By examining how we think, work, and play in the outdoors, we’re building community and illuminating how Californians from all walks of life experience nature and conservation, in the redwoods and beyond.

I’ll go if you go — because when we explore together in community, the experience is all the more powerful.

Music by Nhu Nguyen and Anni Feng.

Episodes

Season 4Season 3Season 2Season 1

Season 4

In Season 4, we’re exploring the different kinds of jobs you can do in the redwoods and redwoods parks.
 

Talking Trees

In this twelfth episode, host Emily Harwitz takes a closer look at the fuel that drives conservation. Funding, of course, is essential, and two of the main sources of conservation funding are government agencies and philanthropy. Today’s guests—Ben Friedman and Geenah Leslie—are experts in those areas, from the state and federal levels to the local level. They’re also experts at cultivating relationships, because that’s the real foundation of this work: building relationships based on shared values and a commitment to making the world a better place, for all of us. From what’s in the upcoming Proposition 4 Climate Bond to... Read more

Finding your path

In this eleventh episode, host Emily Harwitz takes a closer look at career development programs specifically designed to give young people work experience in park and public land jobs. Many guests this season found their jobs in conservation by following wending paths toward their love for nature—and through a little bit of serendipity. That’s true for Alfonso Orozco who, guided by his own experiences navigating a career in parks and the outdoors, now leads the Career Pathways Grants Program at Parks California where he helps make job training programs possible and accessible. One of the organizations that received a Career... Read more

Outreach, where the people are

In this tenth episode, host Emily Harwitz talks outreach and engagement—for nature and adventure—in a double-feature with Xiomara Batin, Outreach and Marketing Manager at GirlVentures, and Erika Granadino, Community Engagement Coordinator for the North Coast Redwoods District. How do you get people to come outside if they’ve never done it before? Hint: it starts with meeting people where they’re at. If you like talking to people, making connections, and telling stories, then today’s episode is for you!  Xiomara Batin: Xiomara Batin is the Outreach and Marketing Manager at GirlVentures, an outdoor educational non profit based in Oakland, California. Xiomara has... Read more

It’s only natural

In this ninth episode, host Emily Harwitz ventures to Butano State Park to ask artist, educator, and naturalist Elexis Padrón: What is art? How can art help us connect with nature? And what role can artists play in conservation? As Elexis puts it, art is a way of seeing that can help us foster our relationships with nature. Art can be a way to help people not just see and value, but love this world. From personal philosophies on why art is a powerful tool for connection, to the ins and outs of nature journaling, to the new statewide Arts... Read more

Stewardship: Keepers of the Land

In this eighth episode, host Emily Harwitz heads to a redwoods preserve in Napa County to explore the work of stewardship—or, the next stage of conservation after a piece of land is protected. Conservation doesn’t end with a legal transaction! Just as nature is constantly changing, so, too, are the needs of the land, and it’s the work of stewardship to keep the land healthy. It’s a dynamic field of environmental work that involves working outside, building relationships, and planning for the future. Today’s guests, JoeJoe Clark and Clarisa Rosas, share with us their love for nature and what it’s... Read more

Reimagining Fire

In this seventh episode, host Emily Harwitz delves into the world of fire adaptation and resilience across California with a double feature: Katie Low, fire ecologist and Statewide Coordinator for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network, and Saul Tejeda, an Assistant Captain on the Yosemite Wildland Fire Module with over a decade of experience on the fireline. This episode goes broad and deep, so if you’re hankering to learn about California’s state of fire preparedness, how a prescribed burn happens, how technology is advancing wildland firefighting, or the technical nitty-gritty of what it’s like to work with fire, you’re... Read more

Neida and the Giant Sequoias

In this sixth episode, host Emily Harwitz travels to the Sierra Nevada mountain range (figuratively) with guest Neida Rodriguez, a rising forestry student at Cal Poly Humboldt and this year’s Giant Sequoia Forest Fellow. There’s only one species of the biggest tree on Earth—giant sequoias—and it’s a special treat to hear from Neida herself about what it’s like to work among giants and what stewarding sequoias looks like today. From preparing the land for healthy fire to learning from the Tribes who know this land best, to monitoring for bears and finding gray wolf tracks (!), Neida regales us with... Read more

Up to Interpretation

In this fifth episode, host Emily Harwitz chats with Kyle Buchanan and Karla Jovel about Interpretation—the kind that blends science, art, and storytelling in the outdoors to help park visitors appreciate the natural and cultural histories of the places they love. We also get an inside look at the new and exciting project called Forests for All that’s bringing local communities out into Redwood National and State Parks to go on fun and meaningful excursions, from day hiking to days-long backpacking trips. Karla launched Forests for All in 2023 and soon brought Kyle in to support. Together, they’re shaping the... Read more

The way of water

In this fourth episode, host Emily Harwitz chats with Daniela Peña Corvillon about her work as a water architect, a term she coined while studying landscape architecture and realizing that water is the foundation for life in any landscape. Where water flows, life grows, and water always finds a way. Redwood ecosystems are a great example of that, like at one of Daniela’s favorite projects, the ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway. Through Daniela’s stories about her artistic perspective, design philosophy, and ecological thinking, this episode will change the way you experience landscapes and open your eyes to the way water shapes... Read more

Aqua Team Restoration Force

In this third episode, host Emily Harwitz chats with José Juan Rodriguez and Verenice Sanchez about doing aquatic restoration in old growth redwood forests. Growing up in big cities, neither of them thought they’d one day be snorkeling beneath the redwoods or trekking along creeks to collect eDNA samples. But since then, they’ve followed their passions for nature and, after some surprising turns, have found their niches—their homes—in conservation. Verenice "Nice" Sanchez Verenice Sanchez is an aspiring restoration ecologist. She graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt with a BS degree in environmental science and management. A 2023 Redwood Rising Watershed Apprentice,... Read more

Guardian of the redwoods

In this second episode, host Emily Harwitz chats with Francisco Saavedra about forestry, how his Yurok heritage informs his forestry practice, who the redwoods are to him, and what he hopes to accomplish as a Guardian of the Redwoods. Francisco Antonio Saavedra Jr. is a proud, federally enrolled member of the Pit River tribe Madesi Band, with Yurok and El Salvadoran ancestry. He was born and raised in Northern California. Francisco is currently studying tribal forestry at College of the Redwoods and aspires to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Tribal Forestry and Natural Resources from Cal Poly Humboldt.... Read more

Who’s your host?

Welcome to Season 4! This season, we’re exploring the different kinds of jobs you can do in the redwood and redwoods parks. In this first episode, producer and host of season 1, Leslie Parra, interviews the current host Emily Harwitz. They talk about Emily’s love for nature, what she does for work when she’s not hosting I’ll Go If You Go, and how she’s approached her career in science and environmental storytelling. Read more

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About the host

Emily Harwitz (she/her) is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker who works at the nexus of science and art to catalyze social and environmental change. Trained as a scientist and journalist, she also draws from her experience working in conservation and the outdoors to tell stories that inform, inspire, and rebuild connection with the beauty of nature we’re all part of.

Season 3

• Conservation: now in technicolor!
• Have no fear, the gals are here!
• The Girl with the Redwood Tattoos
• Out with Outlandish!
• Trek long and prosper
• To Build a Trail—and the community that follows

 

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About the host

Emily Harwitz (she/her) is a multimedia science writer and photographer whose work focuses on the environment and our connection to it. She tells stories that foster community, provoke curiosity, and inspire a sense of deeper connection with the natural world around us.

Season 2

• The fungus among us
• Nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend
• Bird is the word
• “Skate slow and live”
• When the river meets the sea
• Brown is a beautiful color

 

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About the host of season 2

Emily Harwitz (she/her) is a multimedia science writer and photographer whose work focuses on the environment and our connection to it. She tells stories that foster community, provoke curiosity, and inspire a sense of deeper connection with the natural world around us.

Season 1

• Raised by the Oakland redwoods
• Rooting yourself in community and place
• If I could walk with the animals, talk with the animals
• A hike a week keeps your well-being at peak
• How to stand up (like a redwood)
• Come as you are (smells like team spirit)

 

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About the host of Season 1

Leslie Parra (she/her) connects diverse communities to redwood and sequoia forests. She has garnered significant recognition for her leadership in community civic action, STEM and environmental education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion work over the past 15 years. Her professional calling is to cultivate enrichment programs with multicultural and international perspectives, driven by and in collaboration with communities. During her free time, she loves to go hiking with her partner Eric and their dog Mishqui (which means “sweet” in Quichua, the native language of Ecuador—a place she calls home).

Press Releases

• Save the Redwoods League Announces Fourth Season of Podcast “I’ll Go If You Go”

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