Lydia
Jennings

. . . a passionate trail runner who has knowledge and respect for the land and soil she runs on.

she/her/hers

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I am an environmental microbiologist/trail runner/science communicator who grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico (Tewa lands) and is Huichol (Wixáritari) and Pascua Yaqui (Yoeme). I earned my Bachelors of Science from California State University, Monterey Bay in Environmental Science, Technology and Policy. I now reside in Tucson, Arizona (O’odham & Yaqui lands) where I am studying at the University of Arizona in the Department of Environmental Sciences, with a minor in American Indian Policy.

My research areas are in soil health, environmental remediation, Indigenous science practices, and mining policy. I am a 2014 University of Arizona NIEHS Superfund Program trainee, a 2015 recipient of National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program, and a 2019 American Geophysical Union “Voices for Science” Fellow. I plan to graduate Summer 2020. 

“Trail running has and continues to be one of the motivations for why I study environmental science. Running in Northern New Mexico, and now Southern Arizona, two places heavily impacted by the mining industry, led me to think deeply the lands beneath my feet. Through running, I mastered my skills of observation about my environment, and in turn, my studies have helped me decode the stories of the lands I run to become a passionate advocate for the science of land stewardship practices. I often ask myself: “who’s land am I running on, and what has been their practices of land stewardship that shapes the places I now experience, and how can I support them?”