Growing up UEC: Establishing deep roots in the community

At our recent Summer Solstice Soiree, our annual fundraising gala, we were honored to hear from Jamarquan Houston, whose powerful story exemplifies the transformative impact of the Urban Ecology Center. His journey from curious eight-year-old to accomplished educator and community leader reminds us why our work matters.

A Simple Invitation That Changed Everything

In 2009, eight-year-old Jamarquan Houston was just a boy riding his bike through Washington Park on a typical sunny day, enjoying the weather with friends from the neighborhood. Little did he know that this ordinary afternoon would become the beginning of an extraordinary journey.

As he rode up and down the hills, a staff member from the newly opened Urban Ecology Center Washington Park campus approached him and his friends inviting them to check out what was going on/

That simple invitation—delivered with genuine enthusiasm and care—would transform Jamarquan's life in ways no one could have imagined.

"It provided me my first opportunity to have a safe space outside of the volatile environments I often came up in," Jamarquan reflects today. Living with his mother and four siblings in a single-parent household just blocks from the center, he found more than just activities at the UEC—he found mentors, community, and a foundation that would shape his entire future.

Finding Connection Through Nature

What struck Jamarquan most about that first encounter was Scott's passion. "When somebody really can explain something, I feel like that means you really care about what you're talking about. And not only that, but you care about your job," he recalls. "That made me connect with Scott right away."

This connection deepened when Scott and fellow educator Joey Zocher welcomed him with open arms. "Whenever we're here, feel free to come and check us out. Whatever we got going on, you're welcome to," they told him. Jamarquan took them at their word—and then some.

"I literally was coming to the center almost every day," he laughs. "They couldn't stop me from coming after that."

The UEC became his second home, offering structure and purpose after school while his mother worked hard to support their family. Almost daily, Jamarquan immersed himself in a world of discovery: park ranging, community cleanups, canoeing, snow sledding, maple syrup extraction, invasive species removal, camping and tenting, fishing, bird watching, board games, coloring, and building decomposers.

"I was so much in love with exploring the outdoors and being able to have another outlet to express myself," he remembers. "Sometimes you don't really have that opportunity, and it was just really a great experience overall."

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Lessons That Lasted a Lifetime

Among all the activities, sustainable agriculture and cultivation held special meaning for Jamarquan. Learning to grow food taught him patience and showed him the satisfaction of nurturing something from seed to harvest. "The whole process of growing food and cultivating food is time-consuming, but it's one of those things that requires patience, and it's even better when you see the fruits of your labor," he explains.

These hands-on experiences went far beyond fun activities—they were life lessons in disguise. "I was able to be around different people with different perspectives and different ways of living," Jamarquan notes. "It was refreshing to see how all the things I was learning could be applied in my real life."

The UEC provided him with tools both practical and philosophical. Today, he's confident he could start his own garden thanks to what he learned about composting and sustainable growing practices. More importantly, he developed a deep understanding of humanity's relationship with the natural world.

A Full-Circle Moment

Life took Jamarquan in many directions after his family moved from the neighborhood in 2012. He graduated from college, became an author and educator, and began his own journey as a youth mentor. But the UEC remained a foundational part of his story—literally. He included his experiences there in a book he wrote about his life journey.

Then came a magical moment of reconnection. At a recent UEC event, Jamarquan spotted a familiar face—Joey Zocher, one of the educators who had welcomed him all those years ago.

"I kept looking and she looked at me, and once our eyes met, it clicked right there," he recalls. "She was like, 'Wow, Jamarquan! My God, I remember you were just a little boy.'"

"It was a heartwarming experience," he reflects. "A full-circle moment for me."

This reconnection wasn't just personally meaningful—it rekindled Jamarquan's desire to give back to the community that had given him so much. "I wanted to reconnect with the community that I once had at the Urban Ecology Center," he explains. "I also wanted to spread that awareness to others and be like, 'Hey, I've been through this and I'm living proof of how I was able to get different experiences, different insights, gain different knowledge just from being active in the outdoors.'"

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Carrying the Mission Forward

Today, Jamarquan embodies the UEC's mission in his daily work. He volunteers with organizations like the Victory Garden Initiative, helping with food distribution events and indoor garden bed construction. He serves on the United Way link committee, working to create community events and raise funds for essential services like the community diaper bank. His commitment to mentoring youth carries forward the same spirit of care and investment that Scott and Joey showed him years ago.

"Nature is not something to be fixed or a puzzle to be solved, but something we need to actively take care of," he shares—a philosophy that clearly stems from his formative years at the UEC.

A Message for the Next Generation

When asked what advice he'd give to young people discovering the UEC for the first time, Jamarquan's response reflects the wisdom gained from his own transformative experience:

"Be open-minded because there's a lot of different things to get into. You want to go in with the attitude that you get what you put in. If you are actively engaged, actively asking questions, inquisitive, allowing your curiosity to flow, then you will get the best out of the experience."

He encourages young people to see the UEC as more than just fun activities: "This is really a great outlet for you to learn about things and different parts and aspects of yourself that you probably didn't even know existed."

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The Ripple Effect of Investment

Jamarquan's story powerfully illustrates why the Urban Ecology Center's work matters. What began as a simple invitation to learn about decomposers became a life-changing experience that continues to ripple outward through his community work today.

"I definitely give a lot of credit to the Urban Ecology Center and its staff that was able to assist me along the journey," he says. "It really was one of those experiences where I was able to use it for things that just made me more appreciative of life and the essence of life."

His presence at our Summer Solstice Soiree as a featured speaker reminded our donors and supporters that their investment in the UEC creates lasting change. Every program, every educator, every invitation to curiosity has the potential to transform a life—and through that transformation, strengthen entire communities.

"It's part of who I am and it's part of my story," Jamarquan concludes. "I can go back on so many memories, but it's a part of me and it's a part of my book."

As we look toward the future, Jamarquan's journey reminds us that the seeds we plant today—whether literal seeds in our gardens or metaphorical seeds of curiosity and connection—will grow in ways we can barely imagine. The eight-year-old boy on a bike became a college graduate, author, educator, and community leader. Who knows what tomorrow's eight-year-old will become when given the same opportunity to discover, explore, and grow.

Thank you to Jamarquan Houston for sharing his story with us and for exemplifying the lasting impact of environmental education and community connection.

Donate to support the Urban Ecology Center's mission, and keep inspiring stories like this going.

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