In the seventh episode of Season 5, host Monica Carcamo-Binetti heads into the Santa Cruz Mountains to record on location at San Vicente Redwoods. She is joined by Sempervirens Fund natural resource manager Beatrix Jiménez-Helsley. Beatrix’s path into land stewardship began with a spark of awe for the redwoods’ cousin, the Giant Sequoias. That early wonder shaped her career dedicated to tending forests, protecting watersheds, and nurturing resilient ecosystems in a changing climate.

Monica and Beatrix talk through the layers of restoration unfolding across this 9,000 acre landscape, from fuel reduction plots and post-fire recovery, to the quiet importance of leveraging manmade ponds that now serve as a habitat source for rare birds, raptors, and other native species.

This conversation is also a reminder that stewardship is a shared responsibility. Beatrix reflects on the volunteers, local partners, and first-time hikers who care for these lands and reminds us that tending to the redwood ecosystem is not just environmental work but an essential act of community health and resilience.

Recorded among sweeping ocean views, drifting fog, and the chorus of native birds, this episode invites listeners to step into San Vicente Redwoods and imagine what it means to co-exist with the landscape that sustains us.

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**Guest bio**

Beatrix Jiménez-Helsley is an ecologist passionate about protecting and restoring California’s biodiversity. She has worked in academia, non-profit, and private sectors, with experience in research, fieldwork, community outreach, teaching, conservation land management and restoration, biological surveys, and construction management. Beatrix was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles and Downey and is a proud daughter of immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador. She loves discussing nature, science, and research, and sharing her love of California native plants and the vast ecodiversity in her region, and beyond. Beatrix holds a BA in Biology (CCS) and a minor in Earth Science from UC Santa Barbara.

**Socials**

IG: @botanicalbeatrix