Alejandro Elizarraraz stands in a grassy field with a saw, cutting back brush on a hillside in northern California to help prevent wildfires. The 18-year-old, who grew up in Santa Rosa, says he never had a personal connection with nature before joining LandPaths, an environmental conservancy nonprofit that works with the city to offer outdoor youth violence-prevention programs.
From Concrete to Forest
LandPaths takes at-risk youth out of urban environments and into the natural world, where they hike, camp, and explore Sonoma County. Many participants experience their first encounters with the land, helping them realize there is more to life than gangs and violence, organizers say.
Danny Chaparro, LandPaths' new audiences manager, grew up in Roseland, a predominantly Latino neighborhood with a history of gang violence. He has the letters R-O-S-E-L-A-N-D tattooed on his knuckles. Chaparro says the program gives youth a different space, redirecting their attention away from trouble.
Young Stewards Program
Some students, like Elizarraraz, were so enthusiastic that Chaparro hired them for the Young Stewards program, which involves trail building, habitat restoration, and land-stewardship projects. Elizarraraz has never missed a session.
During a camp-out, Chaparro challenged students to two minutes of silence staring at the stars. The silence stretched longer, and many said they had never felt that much peace.
Addressing Root Causes
The shift toward addressing underlying factors like trauma and poverty led to Santa Rosa's Violence Prevention Partnership, which can refer youth to programs like LandPaths. Ernesto Olivares, a retired police lieutenant and former mayor, says the community must understand the cycles that perpetuate gang violence.
Early research shows such programs can reduce gang involvement and help youth finish high school. Santa Rosa police chief John Cregan notes that ghost guns have flooded the streets, with seizures rising from 10 in 2019 to 124 by 2024, and 194 in the first four months of 2026.
Despite a $17.5m budget deficit, employees overseeing LandPaths programs say they will find a way to continue combatting gang violence with access to fresh air.
