By: Justin Luong

This display was created to highlight some of the large diversity in backgrounds of Santa Cruz naturalists. It attempts to provide a snapshot of various racial, gender and LGBTQIA identities and taxonomic focuses within the community. Many people interviewed (those shown above, and not depicted in this image) highlighted that younger naturalists lack role models and mentors that identify similarly. This is starting to change and the Norris Center actively supports this effort.

The icon depicted within the photo represents what that naturalist focuses on. Hawk = bird focus, Poppy = plant focus, Lady beetle = insect focus, People and earth = human-nature interactions, Seal = marine mammal focus, Fish = Fish or fishery focus, rainbow flag = LBTQIA identity, Horned lizard = reptile focus, Shark = Shark focus, Eel = Eel focus, Manta = Manta ray focus, mouse = mice focus

Learn more about other diverse naturalists in the Naturalists Profiles section.