In 1973, Demetrio “Demi” Braceros, a practical arts teacher, immigrated to California with his wife. He came as part of a wave of Filipino migration to San Francisco in the 1970s through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which ended racial discrimination in immigration policies. Demi had grown up in the small town of Cabugao in the province of Ilocos Sur, a rugged coastline in northern Philippines where he had learned how to farm. In college, he studied wood carving and then mastered his craft over a decade, while working as a teacher. Like many migrants, Demi took up a variety of jobs in his first few years, from portering to a position at a law firm, but then opted for a shovel and shears tending to the trees at the Golden Gate Park Arboretum. In 1986, he accepted a gardening position at Cayuga Playground with San Francisco Recreation and Parks and remained there for twenty-three years.