Meet a Tree Ambassador: Esme Castro

Which community group are you from? 

I am from Latinos Progresando, a nonprofit organization based in Marshall Square, located on the east side of South Lawndale. Our mission is to uplift the wellbeing of the Mexican community. We offer immigration legal services, as well as community based initiatives, with resource-based programs. We also coordinate the Marshall Square Resource Network that has 60 plus organizations participating. 

What experiences or paths brought you to where you are now?

I grew up in Los Angeles, until I was 6 years old, and then moved to Chicago. I’ve been here for so much of my life that I could tell you things only somebody who is “from” Chicago could. I may not be technically a Chicago native, but I consider myself one.

Ever since I was in high school, I knew I wanted to give back to my community, but I didn’t know where to begin with that. After doing some research, I decided to attend the University of Illinois Chicago studying sociology. My capstone project was an internship with a non-profit. I really liked the work, so I decided to stay in the nonprofit sector. Eventually, I ended up at Latinos Progresando in 2024, starting as a community engagement coordinator. 

My intention was to work in Little Village on the Cermak Corridor, so this organization was perfect. I grew up in this area and have seen a lot of the great things Latinos Progresando has done. I wanted to learn more to be able to give back to my community, and I am doing that now. It’s been amazing to see how even one person can influence and connect a community. 

Favorite nature area around Chicago?

There are so many great, large nature areas around Chicago but, again, I really love my community, so my favorite one would have to be Douglass Park. It’s interesting because Douglass Park is made up of North and South Lawndale. I went there many times growing up because that’s where we had our cookouts. As I got older, I decided to explore more of the North Lawndale side, specifically the part where they have a really large pond. In this spot, if you are positioned just right, you can see the city skyline. You’re experiencing half nature and half city. That’s my favorite spot to show people. I think it’s a hidden gem. It truly has so much to offer. 

Can you share a specific example of how you've tailored the program to fit your community?

One thing I noticed when I began canvassing was that a lot of the homes in our area are gated. I know that’s not the case for every neighborhood, where you can walk right up to the door. In Little Village, the majority of the houses you can’t do that. Like what do we do now? So, we ended up creating door hangers in both English and Spanish that helped us get the message out, explain what we are trying to do and ask them to contact us if they are interested. Beyond door hangers, we used the connections we already had with schools and went to parent advisory council meetings and bilingual advisory council meetings. These spaces connect a lot of community members with one another and with resources. 

How has this work inspired you?

When I stepped into this project, I was not sure what to expect. I wanted to do a lot of community work and I wasn’t sure how trees were going to fit into this. But I took it as a learning opportunity! In this work, I have seen that every small action has bigger effects and consequences. As I started diving deep into the green work, I was learning so much. I had heard back in school that trees were important, recycling was important. But I took it lightly when I was younger. Now, I’ve started to really see that, yes, there are obvious benefits, but also that the work we are doing is going to continue to benefit for years to come. This work will benefit my kids and their kids, and so on. It’s benefiting generations in the future. 

Also, being able to foster an environment that normalizes these conversations around conservation and tree canopy is really important. It starts with one person. As I kept doing this work, I got better at engaging people with these topics and having conversations with them. It really is about exposure, because people won’t invest in something that they aren’t aware of. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I just want to thank the whole team at the Arboretum and say that we miss Melinda! She is great. Things change and sometimes things can be difficult, but I appreciate all of your support. 

As featured in The Morton Arboretum February 2026 Tree Ambassador Program Newsletter.