Photo by Nick Romanenko/Rutgers University
Mason Gross Art & Design BFA alum Ariana Arancibia is the new director of Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship, a role she took on to tackle issues of social justice and equity. She is working to expand access to the gardens for surrounding communities and make it a welcoming place for people of color and other marginalized communities who have historically not had equal access to nature and public green spaces.
“I want to engage with new communities that may feel traditionally this space wasn’t for them,” says Arancibia, who grew up in East Brunswick, NJ. “Research has proven that access to nature extends your life and is an important part of your wholeness as a human being. When you don’t have access to nature it is like not having access to water, like not having access to food. These all should be treated as equally important.’’