Adrin Biagas

Director of Land Acquisition

Adrin is a driven negotiator with a commitment to cultivating relationships of trust with landowners and partners. As Director of Land Acquisition, Adrin is the collaborative and critical thinker behind procuring land for Bayou Greenways, future park use, and land conservation. With more than 11 years of experience in land acquisition, Adrin’s work has created new greenspace that connects communities, bringing trails and parks to all Houstonians. Adrin lives for early morning runs and family bike rides on weekends along Heights Hike and Bike Trail.

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Amanda Nunley

Sr GIS Manager

Amanda is a contemporary cartographer who creates and analyzes geographic data to map greenspaces and connections throughout Houston. Through computerized mapping, she displays complex ideas in tangible form to visualize the potential of our city’s parks and trails. An environmentalist at heart with a background in civil engineering, Amanda brings 14 years of experience to her role as Sr GIS Manager. An avid traveler, her love of geography has taken her from hiking in the Rockies to snorkeling in the Caribbean.

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Arun Johnson

Accounting Manager

Arun is wildly attentive to detail. As Accounting Manager, Arun is committed to ensuring that the work of Houston Parks Board operates with accuracy and timeliness. With over 4 years of experience and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Houston, Arun handles budgets, schedules, contracts, permits, and the annual audit. Arun understands that this everyday work creates parks that all Houstonians can enjoy without knowing how they came to be. A team-player with a love of basketball, Arun sees our greenspaces as a place where everyone can explore what they love most.

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Beth White

President and CEO

White is a seasoned and determined visionary who gets things done. She is a nationally recognized leader with extensive experience in public-private partnerships, planning, fundraising, and opening new parks and natural areas including such notable efforts as the award winning 606 elevated park and trail system in Chicago and the Hackmatack Wildlife Refuge spanning the boarders of Illinois and Wisconsin. As President and CEO of Houston Parks Board, she is responsible for the implementation of Bayou Greenways —the city-wide initiative creating more than 14,000 acres of new greenspace and bringing 1.5 million people within 1.5 miles of 150 miles of trails and guiding the expansive Beyond the Bayous planning effort.

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Chanelle Nicole Jackson

Engagement Manager

Chanelle Nicole Jackson is a reformed grant writer turned urban planner, turned Houston Parks Board Outreach Manager. She attributes her love and knowledge of Houston to years of riding the Metro as a teenager, and her many years of playing in Houston parks as a child. With three years of experience as a planner and community advocate, and ten years in grant writing and program development, Chanelle is a ‘people person’ and likes to get things done quickly and efficiently. As Outreach Manager, she supports community awareness and education about local parks and greenspace one neighborhood program at a time, with an emphasis on equity. Chanelle has a Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy from Texas Southern University, and enjoys taking walks with her family and dogs in George T. Nelson Park, commonly known as Yellowstone Park.

Chris Carroll

Greenspace Manager

Chris is an accomplished park and recreation professional with over three decades of experience in greenspace operations and strategic development. In his role, he supervises and manages the daily ground operations of parks and greenspaces. Chris has extensive experience and expertise in Houston’s park system, directing and managing its greenspaces at the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department for over 30 years. He loves watching Houstonians enjoy their community parks, serving as a constant reminder that all kids deserve a great park, playground, and trail system.  

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Christina Lee

Conservation Technician

Christina is a passionate biologist with a commitment to restoring habitats and supporting wildlife. She understands the benefits of natural greenspaces not just as refuge for plants and animals, but also for people.

As Conservation Technician, Christina works collaboratively to monitor and maintain restoration projects with hopes of creating more natural areas in the Houston area.

With Bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Studies and Biology, and a Masters in Wildlife Science, Christina is experienced is many various habitats. She enjoys traveling and discovering new animals on nature walks.

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Cuauhtemoc Reyes

Maintenance Technician

Since childhood, parks have been a symbol of happiness to Cuauhtemoc, so he is very proud to be a Conservation Assistant. He has worked in the construction field for the past 25 years, but he inherited his mother’s love of horticulture, and has always found a way to bring that same love of growing things to his clients. He enjoys making use of his practical knowledge to bring efficiency to the HPB Conservation and Maintenance team. Cuauhtemoc is an avid photographer, and his favorite subject, besides his daughter and granddaughter, is the beauty of nature around him.

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Dan Howse

Asset Manager

Dan is a multi-tasker with a diverse understanding of the field of landscape architecture. Inspired from a young age by his parent’s garden, he built his first pathway at the age of 12. His commitment and passion has taken him coast-to-coast to work on projects of every scale. Hearing Houston Parks Board members discuss Bayou Greenways was the spark that led to joining the organization. In his role as Asset Manager, he ensures projects are completed with timeliness and acuity. Active himself, Dan can be found at Crossfit, five days a week.

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Danny Zirilli

Sr Capital Projects Manager

Danny is a Sr Capital Projects Manager for Houston Parks Board. Coming from a technical background in engineering, and a background in landscape architecture, Danny brings a wide range of vision to effectively solve an array of problems. Having a career that spans over 20 years, he is pragmatic in his approach- from balancing high quality work with timely completion, to daily problem solving and keeping the project on budget; seeing the smiles and hearing laughter of the people using the greenway at the end makes it all worthwhile for him.

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Darla Bara

Executive Assistant and Special Assistant to the Ceo

Darla is dedicated to lending a hand to help others. In her role at HPB, she is the central communication hub for the office and CEO. Darla has more than twenty years of experience as an executive assistant and office manager, with eleven years at CPA firms. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Houston in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on communication/public speaking.

On weekends, you can find Darla participating in BBQ competitions with her husband, gardening, or walking her dog. She is an advocate for animals and passionate about parks, especially dog parks.

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David McLay

Maintenance Technician

David brings over 20 years of construction experience to his work at Houston Parks Board. He holds himself and those he works with to high standards, and has a reputation for being meticulous and detail-oriented. David’s mechanical ‘know how’ coupled with industry ingenuity makes him an invaluable member of the HPB team. An avid outdoorsman, he takes special consideration in doing his part to maintain and replenish our natural greenspaces. In his free time, David enjoys mountain bike riding along the Bayou Greenways in the Houston Metro area with his family.

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DK Washington

Greenspace Manager

DK is keenly passionate about the details. As Greenspace Manager, DK is responsible for ensuring that our trails are maintained for the enjoyment of millions of Houstonians. Bringing over 30 years of experience to that work, DK takes pride in creating spaces everyone can enjoy. DK enjoys walking with his wife and her dog along Meyer Park, and taking his grandkids to visit Greens Bayou Greenway and the skate park.

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Efrain Davila

IT and Facilities Lead

Efrain is a resourceful and proactive team member with 12 years of IT experience in the non-profit industry, where he has successfully implemented IT strategies to enhance organizational efficiency. In his role, Efrain oversees and manages IT infrastructure and facilities operations, ensuring seamless technology integration and effective facility management. He holds a bachelor’s degree and continually leverages his education to benefit the team. Outside of work, Efrain enjoys spending time with his family, going on walks with his wife, son, and dog through the beautiful parks in Cypress. As a park advocate, Efrain loves to communicate with his community about how important parks are for the area.

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Evelyn White-Spears

Accountant

Evelyn is a polished and skilled professional with over 20 years of diverse experience in the Accounting field. As Accountant, everything she does—from processing invoices to administering payroll—is processed efficiently and demonstrates her drive and dedication to the role she plays on Houston Parks Board. Evelyn enjoys the beauty of our greenspaces and is proud of how Bayous Greenways is helping Houston get more active.

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Glenn Francis

Greenspace Manager

Glenn is our resident expert in the practical aspects of all things horticultural. With over 30 years experience in Houston’s high-end landscape industry, Glenn has done it all, personally: from pushing a lawn mower while in high school, to ownership of a successful small business. It’s with that obsession for all aspects of our natural world and an abiding passion for husbanding beautiful views, that Glenn brings to bare on our Brays Bayou trail system—as Greenspace Manager and coordinator of “boots on the ground”. In his spare time, Glenn is a devoted grandfather, avid fisherman, amateur naturalist, gardener and artist.

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John Brandt

Sr Capital Projects Manager

John is an energetic leader and collaborative facilitator. As Sr Capital Projects Manager, he is responsible for providing clarity and complex community projects to broaden public access to parks. With over 20 years of experience with large scale projects with greenspace components, John brings significant expertise to planning and implementing Bayou Greenways. John enjoys jogging, hiking, and playing baseball with his son at TC Jester Park.

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Justin Schultz

Chief Program Officer

With fifteen years in the public and private sectors focused on large-scale infrastructure, climate resilience and strategic planning, Justin approaches his role as Chief Planning and Strategy Officer with the aim of expanding access to quality open space to all Houstonians. Justin’s role at the Houston Parks Board includes expanding partnerships and leading strategic initiatives, in addition to overseeing the organization’s planning studies.

Justin holds a Masters in Urban Planning from New York University and a BA from the University of Texas at Austin. A native Houstonian, Justin enjoys running on the myriad of Bayou Greenways trails around the city, reading non-fiction and trips to the Houston Zoo with his family.

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Kelsey Young

Stewardship and Donor Engagement Manager

Khaled Elhalabi

Capital Projects Manager

Khaled is dedicated to ensuring that Houston’s parks are accessible, enjoyable, and meet the community’s needs. In his role at HPB, Khaled oversees the development and renovation of parks to serve all Houstonians. With a background in construction management, he brings a strong expertise in executing complex projects and delivering high-quality results. Before joining the team, Khaled served as a construction manager at Tetra Tech, where he honed his skills in infrastructure development.

Khaled holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University at Buffalo. When he’s not at work, you can find him exploring Houston’s parks, swimming, or discovering new hiking trails.

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Kira Elbert

Chief Advancement Officer

Kira is a results-oriented non-profit development professional with over a decade of international experience working with organizations during times of growth and strategy development. As Chief Development Officer, she brings her global experience to Houston and enjoys parks and greenspaces as a place of refuge, recreation, and fitness. During her tenure at myAgro, Kira secured transformative funding through TED’s Audacious project to move 1 million smallholder farmers out of poverty. At Touch Foundation, she worked with McKinsey & Company to strengthen healthcare in Tanzania and scaled the maternal emergency transport system m-mama throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to living in Tanzania, she navigated SeriousFun Children’s Network through a rebrand, and helped lead a successful fundraising campaign during a period of change and growth. Kira holds a B.A. in International Political Economy and Spanish from Fordham University in the Bronx, and is a key player in sustaining and advancing Houston Parks Board’s philanthropic efforts.

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Lauren Berman

Conservation Technician

Lauren is a passionate naturalist who loves Texas biodiversity- especially in the greater Houston area. As a Conservation Assistant, she works to cultivate native plants for Houston’s greenspaces and maintain park sites. Lauren holds a bachelor's degree with a double major in Wildlife & Fisheries Science and Entomology from Texas A&M University. She has worked on various projects as a field technician and in environmental outreach. Outside of work, she loves to hike, swim, and photograph native flora and fauna.

Linda Carper

Engagement Coordinator

Linda is an enthusiastic people person with an irresistible ‘joie de vivre’. As Outreach Coordinator, her multidisciplinary background informs engagement and stewardship efforts around Houston Parks Board initiatives and outreach, with a focus on the Inwood Recreation Project.

Linda loves bike riding, line dancing, and aspires to one day become a skilled pianist.

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Linda Zhou

Capital Projects Administrator

Linda is an industrious facilitator. Her instinct for anticipating needs and providing support to those around her stems from over fifteen years of experience in the service and hospitality industry. As Capital Projects Administrator, Linda performs a variety of administrative tasks, keeping the office coordinated and organized. Additionally, she works closely with the Projects team to manage project schedules, record costs, reconcile budgets, and create financial reports. In her spare time, she enjoys Bikram yoga and tinkering with technology. Linda strongly believes that, in our increasingly car-centric city, the benefits of parkland accessibility/equity are invaluable and should not be overlooked as a priority.

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Lisa Graiff

Sr Capital Projects Manager

Lisa G. is a creative problem-solver. As Sr Capital Projects Manager, Lisa enjoys collaborating with the team to clarify, organize, and implement projects that bring park benefits to all Houstonians. Her twenty years of experience in international building and campus projects drives her extraordinary vision in coordinating large-scale projects. Passionate about travel, Lisa has lived internationally in cities such as London and Shanghai. A native Houstonian, she served on the Board of the Bayou Land Conservancy and loves exploring Houston's wild places.

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Lisa Hernandez

Senior Engagement Manager

Lisa is a thoughtful community builder who brings integrity and passion to every aspect of her work. With over 15 years of nonprofit experience working and engaging with communities across the country, Lisa works to ensure Houstonians have a voice in Houston Parks Board projects from the very beginning. She is committed to making sure everyone has a seat at the table when it comes to changes within their neighborhood, and is deeply invested in greenspace access for all communities. Prior to joining HPB, Lisa worked in environmental justice communities with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and got her start in outreach with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. During her college career at Penn State University, she traveled to Alaska and the Yukon to study the impacts of industrialization on Native communities.

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Latisha McCants

Staff Accountant

Latisha is a detail-oriented accountant with over 20 years of experience. In her role, Latisha maintains the general ledger and various schedules to produce timely monthly financial statements and clean, concise annual audits. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and an MBA from Strayer University. Latisha enjoys the beauty of nature and enjoys walking at her local parks and outdoor spaces.

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Liz Rebstad

Conservation Technician

As a conservationist, Liz has a passion for restoring and protecting the native Houston landscape. She has work on various wetland and prairie restoration projects with different agencies and non-profit organizations along the gulf coast. Liz is responsible for monitoring and identifying habitat restoration needs within the Bayou Greenways as a Conservation Technician. She loves to engage with the community, learn new skills, and teach others about the environment.

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Marissa Llosa

Conservation Manager

Marissa is a dedicated field biologist with extensive experience in her field. After training at Brown University with highly skilled biologists, she forged a long career in conservation spanning 23 years and counting. As the Conservation Manager for Houston Parks Board, she is responsible for the careful and thoughtful conservation of the natural resources of our parks and open spaces. As a proud mom to two musically talented children and rescue dogs, Marissa understands the importance of protecting our resources to ensure we have beautiful outdoor spaces where families can spend quality time together.

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Marvin James

Sr. Greenspace Manager

Marvin is a charismatic team player who takes pride in connecting with others to facilitate the success of projects. As Greenspace Manager, Marvin oversees the maintenance and conservation of Houston’s parks and trails. With over 10 years of experience with bayous, including previous roles in inspector capital, property management, and development coordination, Marvin brings a diversified level of experience to ensuring that our greenspaces are cared for in every respect. Passionate about getting active, Marvin regularly plays tennis, hikes and bikes at Terry Hershey Park.

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Melanie Musgrove

Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer

With more than 20 years of global experience across corporate and nonprofit sectors, Chief Financial Officer Melanie Musgrove is proficient in strategic transformations and brings a deep knowledge of accounting, finance, and risk management to Houston Parks Board. A Houston-native, Melanie is passionate about mission-driven efforts and applies her diverse expertise to help the organization create, improve, protect, and advocate for parks for everyone. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and is CPA licensed in New York and Texas.

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Mindy Guthrie

Senior Director of Development

Mindy is an enthusiastic relationship builder with over 27 years of wide-ranging experience in Houston nonprofits. Her background includes meeting and exceeding fundraising goals in the arts, private and higher education, as well as animal welfare organizations. As Director of Development, she initiates and advances relationships with individuals, foundations, and corporations to secure funding for strategic initiatives. She brings her love of the outdoors and her desire to continue building accessible greenspaces for Houstonians.

Mindy graduated with a BA from Texas Christian University and an MA from the University of Florida with a degree in American Politics and a certification in political campaign management. She enjoys exploring the Bayou Greenways on bicycle, traveling, walking dogs, and is an avid SCUBA diver.

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Molly Glowacki

Data Analytics and Database Manager

Molly is an analytical thinker and technology enthusiast. As Database Manager, she is the primary custodian of the HPB CRM database, ensuring data integrity and efficient operations for the Development team. Molly has a unique background spanning community operations, outreach, marketing, and communications for non-profits and technology organizations. As an avid runner, she enjoys exploring Houston on foot by connecting routes along the Bayou Greenways. She believes that greenspaces are key to growing a vibrant community and is often found in her neighborhood parks with her husband, son, and dog.

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Nick Stiltner

Conservation Technician

Nick is a Conservation Technician at HPB with a focus on forestry. Nick holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology from the University of North Texas and a double minor in Chemistry and English. He is passionate about conservation because of climate change and the threat it poses to upcoming generations and strives to make a difference through his work. Nick started his career on seasonal conservation corps crews around the country and eventually was tasked with leading them. He is known as a jack-of-all-trades, with experiences in vegetation monitoring, forestry restoration, trail building, invasive species management, wetland delineation, and land surveying. Outside of work, Nick enjoys reading, writing, painting, making music, hiking, and gaming. He moved to Houston in 2021 with his wife Jazirae.

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Nicole Metoyer

Operations Assistant

Nicole has a passion for health and fitness and believes parks are an integral part of living a balanced life. She believes everyone should have the opportunity to experience and enjoy fun, clean, and quality parks throughout Houston. As Operations Assistant, she assists the overall operations of HPB. Nicole has a decade of experience as a Senior Executive Assistant and Operations Manager and holds a degree in Business Administration.

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Renissa Garza Montalvo

Capital Projects Manager

With over twenty years of experience in urban planning and fifteen in municipal parks planning, Renissa champions educating the public on the amenities of parks. In her role at HPB, Renissa oversees a variety of new projects critical to the strategic plan. She relishes working for parks at the local level and collaborating with teams from different entities. Her overall goal: to preserve parks and natural spaces in and around Houston and encourage communities to take pride and ownership in their parks.

Renissa holds a Masters in Regional and Community Planning from Kansas State University and a BA from The University of Texas at San Antonio. She enjoys visiting state parks with her family.

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Richard McNamara

Director of Capital Projects

Richard is an engaged team player who advocates for the professional growth of his peers and understands the needs of the park system. As Director of Capital Projects, he works closely with the Projects team to oversee and manage Houston's Bayou Greenways and the Beyond the Bayous initiative. Richard brings over 28 years experience as a Landscape Architect to Houston Parks Board. Raising his family in a neighborhood where parks and trails are plentiful drives his desire to provide safe, accessible, outdoor opportunities for all Houstonians.

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Robin Cavanaugh

Director of Communications & Engagement

Robin is dedicated to make Houston the best it can be. In her role, she develops communications and community programs that engage area citizens to support an interconnected network of parks and trails across the region. Robin joins HPB with more than 40 years of experience in marketing and communications, having worked the past 20 years with nonprofits.

Robin holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Houston. When not at work, you can find her exploring the Bayou Greenways on her bike, walking in Memorial Park or cooking for family, friends and neighbors.

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Ron Butler

Nursery Technician

Ron is a Conservation Nursery technician with passion for the outdoors and working with plants. He has experience as a wholesale nurser in the state of Arizona, specializing in plants indigenous to the southwest. With his extensive experience in the horticulture industry and as Nursery Technician for Houston Parks Board, Ron works to expand and cultivate the vital native plant inventory in Houston’s parks and greenspaces.

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Ronny Morgan

Greenspace Manager

Ronny is very detail oriented with an ability to build great relationships and takes pride in his work. As a Greenspace Manager, Ronny is responsible for ensuring trails are maintained for all Houstonians to enjoy. Ronny comes to us from Harris County Precinct 3, where he has served for nearly 15 years as an inspector. His responsibilities included capital projects, mowing, landscaping, clearing operations and plan reviews. He has a BS in Public Service Leadership from University of Houston—Clear Lake. Ronny has his own Travel Baseball Organization in Waller that he operates with his son. Ronny enjoys going to any park and spending time with his wife running or walking the trails together.

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Trent Rondot

Conservation and Maintenance Director

Trent is a responsible, visionary leader. As Conservation and Maintenance Director, he oversees contract/staff management, program planning, and budgeting. With over 30 years of experience with park development and improvement projects (planning, design, construction and maintenance), he brings a unique, historical perspective on how park systems function best. Trent is a dedicated fan of golfing, cycling, and swimming.

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Vanessa McKeown

Controller

Wesley Givan

Grants Manager

Wesley is a strategic grant acquisition expert. He is passionate about creating equitable access to nature and greenspaces. As Grants Manager, Wesley secures funding from foundations, corporations, and public sources to support the mission of Houston Parks Board. He has nearly a decade of experience in community-based nonprofit work, as well as a background in writing and managing a variety of grants from aquaculture food security projects to technical assistance and access to capital for Houston-based small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Wesley is an Eagle Scout and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, where he served as a Community Economic Development Volunteer in the west African nation of Benin. In his free time he likes to spend time outdoors camping and hiking.

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