A UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences environmental scientist and graduate explores ways nature can be preserved through Indigenous science and practices in her recently published book, Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science.

Dr. Jessica Hernandez, who completed her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees at SEFS, said in a recently published story about her book that she “hopes to bring attention to the ways Indigenous science has preserved ecosystems for generations.” The story was recently reprinted in Teen Vogue.

“We’re often seen as areas of expertise rather than experts ourselves,” said Hernandez, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, the child of Indigenous immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador. “We’re seen as research subjects rather than researchers.”

SEFS Professor Kristiina Vogt, who was Hernandez’s Ph.D. advisor, was also interviewed for the story: “Western science has always had a narrow lens, said Kristiina Vogt… ‘What [Hernandez] has always been able to do is look past that.'”

Read the full story here.