As a professional photographer, Scout Leader, and Master Naturalist in the Alamo Area Chapter (Class 45), Vanessa Velazquez shares her love for the natural world with everyone she meets.
You might not have expected this given her background. She’s a native San Antonian who grew up on the West Side. As an urbanite, her early exposure to the outdoors was scant, mostly walks in local parks or an occasional trip to Garner State Park with her father.
Her life has certainly changed! Now, absorbing everything she can about our environment is a passion, one she shares with her wife, Judy Campa. The two of them are both MNs, as well as founding leaders in the first San Antonio chapter of BPSA scouts. The BPSA mission is one of inclusion and allows scouts of all ages and genders.
Vanessa and Judy look back on a 2010 trip to the Grand Canyon as a turning point in their lives. “It began our addiction to travelling and road-tripping,” says Vanessa. On each adventure they include national and state parks, among them Big Bend, Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Crater Lake, Monument Valley, Arches, Canyonlands, and Mt. Rainer. This not only increased their love of nature; it led them to discover an interest in survival techniques, a knowledge they now share with the scouts in BPSA.
Given this desire to educate others about the natural world, TMN was a perfect fit. Judy was the one who discovered the training and Vanessa eagerly joined her.
“The training module that really changed my life was with entomologist Molly Keck,” says Vanessa. “It reignited my obsession with insects, which has helped me tremendously during this pandemic. I started observing and photographing them in my backyard. This taught me patience with my camera, but also life in general. It calmed my anxiety on every level, and greatly increased my love for nature”
Vanessa’s bug obsession led her to establish a Facebook page called Bug Butts, where followers can enjoy and upload colorful insect photos. It’s just another example of what motivates her to volunteer—a drive to share the beauty of the world around us.
“Recently,” she says, “I was teaching about the life cycle of monarchs, including how in Mexican culture, monarchs are the spirits of our loved ones who have passed on. One of our Rover scouts who is partially deaf and has Down’s Syndrome, taught all the scouts how to sign every monarch stage. Their faces lit up! It was so awesome to see how the others adopted this alternate language, and it also showed us how we can all learn from each other.”
As a MN, Vanessa volunteers in numerous ways, with a special connection to the Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Kendalia, Texas.
She has always loved animals across the spectrum. At a young age she would catch toads, lizards and insects, scaring her family with them. “I’ve done a few rescues in my own backyard, including a racoon, spiny lizards, birds, and a bat. So, when a chance to become a rescue volunteer opened up, I jumped on it!”
Written by Krin Van Tatenhove, Class #45
