A class assignment to volunteer led college student Alejandro Barbosa to discover Kansas City Wildlands – and launched his newfound passion for conserving Kansas City’s wild places. Over the past year, Alejandro has volunteered multiple times across several programs – planting trees with Heartland Tree Alliance, at the Community Recycling Centers, and with KC WildLands. We caught up with Alejandro on a recent hike at Maple Woods Natural Area to learn more about his experience.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
A: I am a Maple Woods student going through my second year. I’m hoping to go into city planning at K-State. I was initially going to do architecture, but I talked with someone there, and I realized the impact I could make with that degree [city planning]. While I was at MCC, I took an environmental science class, and that got me really passionate about this [volunteering with BTG]. I’m now wanting to do a double major in environmental science and city planning, so we’ll see how that goes.
Q: What prompted you to first volunteer with BTG?
A: I started really volunteering because of that environmental science class. We had a semester-long project where we had to go out and do volunteer opportunities for the environment. She [the professor] recommended doing invasive species removal, and I thought that sounded kind of cool. So, I went out and did that and I was like this is pretty chill, it’s an easy way to do it, and I like doing it, so I started doing a little bit more.
Q: You’ve volunteered a lot since then. What keeps bringing you back?
A: It’s fun. It’s peaceful, and it’s a good way to clear your thoughts, but also, I like talking with Jacobo because he knows a lot. [Jacobo is a KC WildLands program coordinator.] It’s a good way to get the knowledge on it. It’s just fun all around. I did a tree planting. That was cool, too – and the seed gathering was also really fun. I don’t know – it’s fulfilling, it’s a good way to spend time, and it is super, super fun to get out here and talk to people and help the environment.
Q: What’s been your favorite thing about volunteering with BTG?
A: When I’m removing honeysuckle, and you look back at what it was, and now it’s cleared. It looks more open, and it looks more natural. That’s such a satisfying feeling to look back on that and be like “Ok, we’ve really done something here.”
Q: What piece of advice would you give a new volunteer?
A: Keep volunteering until you find something that you like! When I volunteered at a recycling center, it was fun – but it was a real snowy day, so I never got to actually do anything, but when I tried the invasive species removal, I was like this is my thing! I like learning about this. I like the actual work of doing it. Like I said, that feeling is so great. So yeah, just keep going until you find something that you like. Most people I talk to that I volunteer with are like “Yeah, I didn’t like that, but I like this.” It’s just a matter of personal preference. There’s always a way to help the environment.
Q: If you had an environmental superpower, what would it be?
A: There’s a DC superhero called Red Tornado. He’s an android, and he’s a tornado. I wish I had his power, but specifically for invasive species. A Tasmanian devil would also be a good representation of that – so I could just “Tasmanian devil” my way around a place and just pick up all the invasive species and not bother anyone else. I could get everything done super fast.
Q: Outside of your volunteer work, what are you passionate about?
A: I want to get into city planning. The reason I did that was because my professor gave a speech about how she helped the homeless population in India. That’s always been something I wanted to try and tackle a little bit here. Just making sure that everyone has somewhere warm to go, and something warm to eat. I’ve been passionate about that for a while.
Q: What sparked your passion in that?
A: A video game. There was a Spider-Man video game that came out in 2018, and he works at a homeless shelter. I know it was just a video game, but I don’t know, seeing him help, you know, it was a nice representation of how you don’t have to be a superhero to help or do something. That little something can inspire on to something bigger.
Q: What are three of your favorite things in Kansas City or about Kansas City?
A: Kauffman Stadium would be one. That’s probably my favorite. I’m a big baseball person. I collect baseball hats. I’m trying to go with my mom to all 30 MLB stadiums. We’re at 14 right now. Baseball is another nice way to relax and take your mind off things. I guess all of these [WildLands] sites would be another. I think this made me truly recognize how nice our state is if you look past – you know some of it can be boring – but it’s not all flat. It’s got character. It has personality. And don’t get me wrong, I like prairies, too, because I went to Jerry Smith Prairie and that was one of my favorite sites because Jacobo said it was the most accurate representation of what Missouri was like before we settled here. Also, it was nice to look out and hang out. I’m trying to think of a third…that might be it.
Q: A lot of volunteer work at Bridging The Gap is about connecting people to nature. What’s your earliest or a favorite childhood memory of being in nature?
A: We used to camp in our backyard. That was always fun. I mean besides the bugs, but my dad was real good about saying “Yeah, they’re not great, but this is their home. How would you like if someone came into your home and tried to squash you?” He’d tell us to just flick them away or shake them off if they bother you. But remember this is their house.
Q: Do you have a favorite plant or tree?
A: Probably a willow tree. There was a park – I think it was Macken Park. Oh, that’s probably my 3rd favorite thing in KC – Macken Park. I went there a lot as a kid. I have a lot of good memories. I don’t know if it’s still there, but there was a willow tree at Macken Park that I would sit underneath and read. It was nice.
