New Staff Bios

Chris Howington, Biologist Intern:

My name is Chris Howington and I am the Biologist Intern for Natural Resources Conservation Service in Redlands this summer. Last summer I worked in Escondido in the greater San Diego Area. I grew up skiing and camping in Big Bear and I am very excited to do great conservation work in a region near and dear to my heart. I am an incoming senior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo studying Earth Science with an emphasis in Land and Water Resources as it relates to Restoration Ecology and Geology.

My love for environmental work started with my time as an Orange County State Parks intern doing bird surveys, invasive plant management, and endangered species preservation. I am an avid hobby geologist and botanist. I enjoy collecting, photographing, and learning about new rocks, minerals, and species as much as possible. For my senior project I will be working with a professor researching how certain plants can grow and thrive in geologically ‘difficult’ areas, specifically serpentine substrates and soils. I am very interested in mine remediation and restoration projects as well as wetland and riparian areas.

Orr German, NRCS Soil Conservation Intern:

My name is Orr (“Light” in Hebrew) German and I am currently an NRCS Soil Conservation Intern. I am originally from Israel. My family and I moved to California when I was 5 years old. I grew up in Woodland Hills, CA. I am going into my final year at UC Davis. My major is Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, Economics and Policy track. I am also minoring in Soil Science. Going into my final year, my main goal is to figure out what I want to do which I think will be best accomplished by going to career fairs and finding out the scope of jobs available in this industry and within the food system.

Lucia Solorzano De Ceja, CSA Coordinator

My name is Lucia Solorzano De Ceja, I’m 38 years old and I love gardening and helping in our community. I was a volunteer at HDV (Huerta Del Valle) for about 6 months and now I have this great opportunity to work as a CSA coordinator at HDV in Ontario CA. I’m in love with this project because I can help the community and the farmer’s access and grow fresh produce.

My goals for this project are to help as many low income families in our community gain access to healthy food for an affordable price and educate them as to why it is important to eat healthy food. I want to bring educational workshops to the farmers to help them grow a more productive crop. I am excited to be forging a partnership between HdV and the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD) to meet the food access needs of our communities.

Oscar Perez, Farm Bill Assistant:

Happy to be a part of the IERCD family, from Earth Team volunteer to NRCS member. I have always been interested in anything science related. I’m in awe of Biological transformations such as caterpillars turning into beautiful butterflies. I’m amazed by Chemical reactions seeing what happens when I add a solution of saturated potassium iodide with hydrogen peroxide and I’m wowed by the Physics properties of figuring out the best counter balance to launch pumpkins out of a trebuchet. I have been blessed to be able to learn from the Master Gardeners of San Bernardino to grow my own food and being able to cook what I grow. I have also been blessed to learn from the Naturalists of the Santa Ana Watershed program to help the environment, so I can continue my passions of hiking and camping. I’ve combined this knowledge base and implemented them in activities and programming, teaching youth about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and what they can do to help the environment.

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