From Marine to Everglades Intern: David Riera on Parks, PTSD and Service

David Riera took an oath as a Marine to protect America against enemies foreign and domestic. After he came home to Florida, he found that parks and green places were what helped him treat his post-traumatic stress disorder. So he changed uniforms. As an intern at Everglades National Park, he sees the job as the same one: protection, now of the country's natural places.

From fishing trips to the Marine Corps

Riera remembers his father teaching him to fish in Biscayne and Everglades national parks when he was a child. A high school mentor showed him the country's natural treasures through the lens of a 35mm Nikon or Pentax camera, and those experiences taught him to identify wildlife. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1999 to 2007, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, and visited parks wherever his travels took him.

Parks as a place to heal

Back from military service, Riera found that parks became a safe place where he could disconnect and reconnect with himself. Ecotherapy worked for him, he says, though it may not work for everyone. He believes recently separated veterans should consider it as a first step toward their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Service, continued

Riera served as a Latino Heritage Internship Program intern in the Environmental Education Unit of the Interpretation Division at Everglades National Park. He values the military history and traditions rooted in many national parks, and his idea of service has grown into protecting, conserving and restoring parks and green spaces through sound science, education and advocacy.

As a multicultural combat veteran, he believes veterans need to share their experiences with communities, including youth groups. During the internship he:

• organized an intern alumni committee;
• organized numerous Latino Conservation Week and Hispanic Heritage events, including a guided "Slough Slog" through the cypress domes from the Ernest Coe Visitor Center;
• plans to keep advocating for the Environmental Education Unit's work with South Florida educators, so that they see Everglades, Biscayne and Big Cypress as living classrooms.

He is also exploring whether his dissertation data could support a published study to help practitioners, so that students can study and relax in parks — and, at the very least, support their own well-being there.

Sources

Based on "Veteran Story: David Riera" from the National Park Service (Everglades National Park), a work of the United States government in the public domain. More about the Latino Heritage Internship Program.