The first stop on Hernandez’s tour is the campus of Cal State University, Northridge. “They have an orange grove and a pond on five acres of land. And the grove has more than 400 trees. It really provides this sense of tranquility. The grove was around before the university, but the university kept it. And so today, when you go, you can relax around the pond and see the ducks and the little turtles—and you can also harvest oranges.”

Hernandez next recommends a visit to the Mission as an interesting part of Valley history. “The Convento is one of the largest adobe buildings in California,” he says. “You can visit and learn more about the building—how it was able to sustain itself because in the 1970s it suffered a lot of damage from an earthquake and they were able to fix it. Outside of the Mission, there's a little square and a lot of Latin populations will photograph their daughters there for their quinceañeras."

Escape from the urban bustle with a walk in Veterans Memorial Regional Community Park. “On one side of the park, there's a popular hiking trail called the Veteran’s Park Trail,” says Hernandez. “It’s great because a lot of people in the Valley don't have that many green spaces to be in. There’s also a small river, a lot of wildlife, and it's just a little hidden gem for a lot of people who live there.”

For lunch, depart the Valley and head to Studio City to SunCafe, an organic vegan restaurant that Hernandez likes. “It's won many awards, and they use food that's GMO free. What’s really cool is that you can dine inside or out; they have an outside garden. I personally love it because it's kind of a hole in the wall restaurant, but it's known in a lot of vegan spaces.”

The next destination is Pasadena, where you’ll be making two art stops. The first is at the Armory for the Arts to see the PST ART exhibit, From the Ground Up: Nurturing Diversity in Hostile Environments. In it, 17 contemporary artists consider what happens when food supply chains are disrupted, as well as the power of one of the smallest elements in nature: the seed. The exhibit appeals to Hernandez’s interest in plants, foraging, and urban gardens.

Pasadena is also home to another of Hernandez’s favorite gardens: “Arlington Garden is three acres,” he says, “and it's on land owned by the California Department of Transportation, which is cool. They lease it to the city of Pasadena and, basically, it's a public space for, like, birds, bees, and butterflies…for the rehabilitation of different species. I love that it gives back to the community and understands the importance of having green spaces.”

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, & Botanical Garden is hosting the second exhibition to check out, Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis, which looks back at 19th century works of art and their depictions of industrialization and a global economy. [Editor's note: The Huntington is also home to one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. Yes. The world!]

The last stop on Hernandez’s tour is a bit of a journey—to CSU Dominguez Hills Art Gallery—but it touches on water ecology, also an issue important to him. Brackish Water Los Angeles studies how urban environments have affected—and often contaminated—local water sources and the communities they serve. It also offers hope on how we may revive and use these often beautiful urban waterways. “I love the LA River,” Hernandez says.