Celebrating Hispanic heritage through conservation
Alliance member land trusts are increasingly becoming involved with Hispanic Heritage Month and Latino Conservation Week
Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15 by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
In 2014, during the opening week of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Hispanic Access Foundation launched Latino Conservation Week as a way to “support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources.” While the inaugural Latino Conservation Week included a modest nine events, 2024 featured more than 360 events held nationally. The increased participation has led to increased media coverage, which in turn has meant a brighter spotlight on the barriers facing Latino communities and their lack of access to outdoor recreation opportunities. It has also led to greater awareness of the important role Latinos play in land conservation and as land stewards.
Increasingly, Alliance member land trusts are becoming involved with Hispanic Heritage Month and Latino Conservation Week; the following are just a handful of examples.
Glacial Lake Conservancy (Sheboygan, Wisconsin)
On September 20, Glacial Lake Conservancy partnered with the Sheboygan County Hispanic Association and Mead Library to bring the first celebration of National Latino Conservation Week to Sheboygan. The event featured a bilingual grounding mindfulness welcome led by Will Campos, followed by a guided bilingual nature hike with naturalist Rob Zimmer, who shared the story of Monarch butterfly migration at the land trust’s Willow Creek Preserve. Mead Library shared a nature weaving art piece for the audience to do and children's conservation books in Spanish.
Placer Land Trust (Auburn, California)
The Great Sierra River Cleanup Day is part of the largest volunteer event in California — a Sierra-wide watershed cleanup event coordinated by Sierra Nevada Alliance in collaboration with California’s Coastal Cleanup Day. This year, Latino Conservation Week and the Great Sierra River Cleanup shared an overlapping weekend, and on September 20, the two events joined forces with 15+ partner organizations, including Placer Land Trust, organizing 20+ cleanup sites to choose from.
Sonoma Land Trust (Santa Rosa, California)
Sonoma Land Trust celebrated Latino Conservation Week with “A Walk Amongst the Redwoods,” an invitation to a bilingual exploration of the new addition to the Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park and Open Space District. The park was recently expanded by 1,517 acres thanks to a collaboration led by Save the Redwoods League between Sonoma County Regional Parks, Sonoma Ag+ OS, the CA Wildlife Conservation Board and Sonoma Land Trust, and connects more than 22,000 acres of protected land.
Big Sur Land Trust (Monterey, California)
In honor of Latino Conservation Week, Big Sur Land Trust hosted a celebration of the Salinas River, inviting the community to connect with the river's natural beauty and significance. The event featured opportunities for recreation, artistic expression, nature exploration and thoughtful reflection, led by experts sharing insights into the river’s history, hydrology, ecology, conservation, nature-based management strategies, climate adaptation and environmental justice.
Learn more about Latino Conservation Week and Hispanic Heritage Month and use our “find a land trust” tool to find a land trust near you!