"Unless Someone Like You Cares": How NatureBridge and "The Lorax" Inspired Terri Carta's Career in Conservation
Terri Carta has spent most of her life championing the importance of preserving natural spaces. Growing up in Southern California, Terri avidly explored parks and outdoor spaces with her family, but it wasn’t until high school that she learned what it means to advocate on their behalf. Her conservation journey began not with a specific career goal, but with a class trip to NatureBridge (formerly Yosemite Institute) that combined adventure, discovery, and the power of Dr. Seuss’ book The Lorax.
As a student at San Gabriel High School in Los Angeles County during the late 1980s, Terri attended a NatureBridge outdoor education program in Yosemite National Park. She and her classmates—who playfully nicknamed themselves “The Otters”—embarked with their NatureBridge educator on hikes, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and spelunking in the “spider caves.” “It was a totally different way of being in nature,” Terri recalls, one that was centered around time spent learning and growing with her friends and classmates rather than with her family members.
Thinking about and talking about our role as stewards was introduced to me as part of [my experience at] Yosemite Institute.Terri Carta, former NatureBridge student
One memory in particular from her NatureBridge trip stands out to Terri: reading The Lorax aloud as a group on a trail. For Terri, the Dr. Seuss classic wasn’t just a story—it was a revelation. “That’s what got me thinking about our role” when it comes to conservation and which path she wanted to take in the future, she says. The post-reading discussions that followed and the encouragement of her NatureBridge educator, Evan, left a lasting impression on Terri. Evan even inscribed a personal note to Terri in her copy of The Lorax, underscoring his belief in her and her classmates as the next generation of environmental stewards.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax"
For Terri, her NatureBridge experience helped connect the concept of environmental stewardship with her everyday life. “I always thought that nature or wilderness was ‘out there’... [but] this environmental ethic is not just about places like Yosemite,” but also about urban environments everywhere, she explains. After returning home, Terri and her friends continued to reflect on the lessons they learned at NatureBridge, holding one another accountable for their actions and their impact on the planet.
Terri credits her NatureBridge experience and the thoughtful guidance and leadership of Evan for sparking her environmental consciousness. “The deeper experience gets to the deeper impact,” Terri says of immersive programs like NatureBridge. Whether participants go on to build careers in conservation or simply become environmental advocates and enthusiasts, the impact of those formative experiences resonates.
NatureBridge inspires this career track among some people who want to follow this path of facilitating these experiences for others.Terri Carta, former NatureBridge student
Inspired by her NatureBridge journey and the lessons of The Lorax, Terri pursued a degree in Conservation Biology and later became a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, working in natural resources management. After returning to the U.S., she spent nearly 20 years with the Central Park Conservancy in New York City, where she ran family programs and outdoor education. Along the way, she earned a Master’s in Ecological Teaching and Learning from the Audubon Expedition Institute through Lesley University.
Now, as Executive Director of the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy in New York, Terri continues to nurture the next generation of environmental leaders. The Conservancy offers educational field trips and volunteer programs, as well as a new six-month paid fellowship program for college-age students that’s designed to build a strong stewardship ethic and develop practical skills in land management and restoration around Jamaica Bay. “One thing I wish people knew is how impactful environmental education is or can be,” Terri remarks. “People…learn to care for things that are larger than themselves.”
Nearly 40 years after her class trip to Yosemite, Terri has a heartfelt message for the NatureBridge community: “I’m grateful that NatureBridge continues these programs and makes these experiences available to students in many, many places. Your work matters, so thank you.”
Photos courtesy of Terri Carta
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"Unless Someone Like You Cares": How NatureBridge and "The Lorax" Inspired Terri Carta's Career in Conservation
Terri Carta has spent most of her life championing the importance of preserving natural spaces. Growing up in Southern California, Terri avidly explored parks and outdoor spaces with her family, but it wasn’t until high school that she learned what it means to advocate on their behalf. Her conservation journey began not with a specific career goal, but with a class trip to NatureBridge (formerly Yosemite Institute) that combined adventure, discovery, and the power of Dr. Seuss’ book "The Lorax."
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