Get outdoors during Latino Conservation Week

In 2013, the Hispanic Access Foundation created Latino Conservation Week as a way to “support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources.” In the ensuing years, events have been geared toward providing Latino families and kids with nearby outdoor recreation opportunities, supporting both local and national conservation issues, and informing policymakers and the public of the Latino community’s views on important local and national conservation issues.

And while the inaugural Latino Conservation Week featured a modest nine events, a decade later in 2023 Latino Conservation Week featured more than 300 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 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.

In an earlier post, we shared an interview with Jessica Godinez, the manager of Latino Conservation Week for the Hispanic Access Foundation focused on how organizations and individuals can get involved. Below, we share examples of some of the Latino Conservation Week events being hosted by Alliance member land trusts.

Land Trust of North Alabama

The accredited Land Trust of North Alabama, located in Huntsville, is hosting a bilingual story hour focused on monarch butterflies on Sept. 17, from 5 – 6:30 p.m. Land trust staff will share the story "Señorita Mariposa" by Ben Gundersheimer, and kids will have the opportunity to craft their own butterflies. The monarch is Alabama’s state insect, and attendees will learn about its yearly migration to Mexico as well as how to help pollinators.

As Gundersheimer — who also goes by Mister G — notes on his website, the idea for the book resulted from him sending the lyrics to his bilingual song “Señorita Mariposa” to acclaimed Mexican illustrator Marcos Almada Rivero.

“On the face of it, ‘Señorita Mariposa’ celebrates the wonder of the monarch butterfly’s annual migration, an epic three-thousand-mile journey that spans the U.S., Mexican and Canadian borders,” said Gundersheimer. "We grew to understand the responsibility that all three nations share in safeguarding butterfly habitat and the undeniable parallels with human migration."

Big Sur Land Trust

Running for 175 miles, the Salinas River is the longest river in the Central Coast region of California, and its an “upside-down” river, flowing south to north from southern San Luis Obispo County to Monterey Bay. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, slightly more than 46% of these two countries are Hispanic or Latino, including more than 60% in Monterey County.

The Salinas River Day Celebration, hosted by the accredited Big Sur Land Trust and BASE Landscape Architecture, celebrates the river and invites the community to immerse themselves in its nature. The event will take place during Latino Conservation Week on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., when guests will embark on a field trip that includes three different locations along the river where participants will have the opportunity to learn from experts about hydrology, ecology and alternative forms of river management focused on nature-based solutions and environmental justice. At the end of the field trip, there will be a short workshop modeling the river in the sand to understand the movement of water and sediment and share visions and desires for the river’s future.

Aspetuck Land Trust

In Connecticut, Aspetuck Land Trust is teaming up with UConn Extension, UConn Extension Urban and Community Forestry, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service on its “Wildlife BPT” initiative, an initiative developed to create safe spaces for BIPOC individuals to learn about and embrace nature. For more information, contact Mayra Rodriguez Gonzalez at the University of Connecticut.

Elkhorn Slough Foundation

The mission of the accredited Elkhorn Slough Foundation in Moss Landing, California, is to conserve and restore Elkhorn Slough and its watershed, home to one of California’s last great coastal wetlands. During Latino Conservation Week, the land trust will lead a free bilingual guided kayak tour of Elkhorn Slough on September 20.

To find an event near you, go to the 2024 Latino Conservation Week Events page.

And use our Find a Land Trust tool to find a land trust near you!