Making friends and finding a community can be challenging, especially as we get older. For a long time, I struggled to find a group where I felt like I truly belonged. That changed when I took a leap of faith and joined Latino Outdoors for a park walk. I was incredibly nervous and almost backed out, but once I arrived, I was warmly welcomed despite the group already being familiar with one another. They greeted me enthusiastically, offered snacks and drinks, and made sure I felt comfortable.
We started with a guided nature meditation, which I found very enjoyable. From there, I had the chance to connect with everyone. I never felt like an outsider; instead, I was genuinely included and got to know some fantastic people. They were funny, engaging, and kind. At the end of the walk, we gathered for a closing session with mini raffles. To my surprise, I won a meditation pillow that I still use regularly.
Since then, I’ve stayed connected through social media and continued to participate in more hikes, campouts, and events. Josie, Elaine, and Daniel have become particularly significant to me. They’ve been incredibly supportive, offering advice and information about camping and keeping me updated on upcoming events. Their help and encouragement have been invaluable.
Joining Latino Outdoors has been a transformative experience. I finally feel like I’ve found a community that accepts me and shares my love for the outdoors. They’ve never made me feel self-conscious about my Spanish, and their warmth and inclusivity have made me feel truly at home. Being part of this group is a blessing, and I’m excited to keep learning and growing with them. Having this community to turn to is a wonderful feeling.
Ashely is a 27-year-old Latino woman with a deep love for art, from painting, and drawing to pottery. Crafting beverages like coffee, smoothies, and teas is another passion. She thrives in the great outdoors, enjoying activities such as hiking, swimming, and biking. Known for being friendly and caring, Ashely takes pleasure in helping others and building connections. Art, nature, and community are central to her life, shaping how she expresses herself and engaging with the world around her.
For about three years now, my primary care physician has been trying to put me on high blood pressure medicine. I politely declined every time until last month; I woke up in the middle of the night from heart palpitations, I just laid in bed, focused on my breathing, and my mind started to drift off into a redwood grove. I’ve known for years that I struggled with high blood pressure, I would feel a pressure in my arm or my hands would start to throb or go numb. I learned to step away from what I was doing at that time and sit in a quiet space, close my eyes and think about what brings me peace; the redwood forest.
There is a special bond I have created with redwood trees, they give me strength, put me at ease when I smell the fresh scent of new growth and stress instantly releases out of my body as I spend time amongst redwood groves. It’s one of the reasons I often visit redwood parks in California.
One of my favorite parks to visit is Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The redwood grove in the park has a beautiful accessible trail that is great for families with small children, elders, and people with mobility limitations. The trail has an interpretive walk and people can learn more about the amazing redwood trees and why they are so important to our environment. On this visit I learned that redwood trees produce both male and female cones that can provide between 60 to 120 seeds which is incredible and a valuable source for preserving redwood tree growth. There is also a visitor center with tons of information on the park, redwood trees, wildlife and often there are activities for youth to participate in and information on park programs for families, school groups and visitors.
For me, having an accessible trail is important because of my limitations at the moment. My high blood pressure makes it hard for me to walk on trails with more than a 250 ft incline. I’m also learning to navigate an injury from a fall that has made my mobility limited, and I’m listening to my body when it needs to rest. I’m finding that slower movement has made me appreciate nature so much more. It’s easier to spot wildlife, observe moss up close, feel the soft bark on trees and hear the wind blow within the trees. It’s truly a remarkable feeling to spend some time in a redwood forest.
I’m so grateful for parks like Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park that offer trails like the Redwood Grove Loop. The grove provides a place of exploration, healing, learning and gives that WOW feeling. The loop will have you looking up at these beautiful towering trees that are so tall you cannot see the top from the ground floor.
I can honestly say that spending time underneath redwood trees has helped me adjust to the high blood pressure medication I was prescribed. I think the benefits of spending time amongst these ancient trees is beneficial to everyone, but especially important to those that have had to transition to taking medication, overcoming an injury or finding a balance for one’s mental health. Visiting redwood parks definitely helps me gather my thoughts, have deep conversations with friends and family. When I’m alone sometimes I find a place to sit and write in my journal or jot down notes of things to accomplish or changes to be made.
At the end of my walk on this visit, I felt grateful for my family, close friendships, and the ability to visit this special park not too far from my home in San Francisco. As I learn to work with a new medication and continue healing from a back injury, I know places like Henry Cowell State Park can provide a place of healing and wellness not just for me but many other people as well.
Last year we celebrated 10 years of Latino Outdoors. 10 years…
10 años.
Hearing it still lands with a joy and admiration, as well as deep appreciation for all the hands that guided it into where it is today. The hands, the smiles, the walks, the time, the showing up of all the many amazing volunteer and community leaders that make up the community of Latino Outdoors. And continue to do so.
We sometimes say that Latino Outdoors started out with a seed of an idea that was boldly planted, caringly nurtured, firmly rooted, and then supported into the growth of not just one tree, but a grove of cultura y comunidad.
And as this new year unfolds and we embark on the next decade, we want to put a particular focus on remembering and honoring our roots, nuestras raíces.
BREAKFAST DISCOURSE: YOUTH ENGAGEMENT at the Wort Hotel.
Now, it is easy to fall into nostalgia about roots. Or take them for granted. Or make them sacrosanct as if they are fixed in time and space.
But roots are not static things. They are living and growing elements of the whole being. They reach out and connect. They communicate with and through interconnected relationships with the ecosystem at large. They take from and contribute to the soil in which they are embedded. They are anchored in what they were, what they are, and what they can still be.
To me, this is part of the invitation to both honor and appreciate the roots of Latino Outdoors, while also continuing to nurture the soil they are in and not forgetting they are not immune to all that ails living beings.
When we first started, we knew we wanted to be rooted in what we felt was representative of healing aspects of our culture– I was and am a strong believer in the expression “La Cultura Cura.” At the same time, we did not want to perpetuate harmful aspects that were inherited and labeled as “part of the culture.” Toxic masculinity in the form of machismo, for example. I think this orientation will continue to be helpful as the organization and community grows.
All of that takes practice of course, and what helped when we started was also being guided by a sense of service, relationship building, and meaningful action that supported leadership development. This was reflected in two main ways:
First, during an early survey of LO leaders, we basically asked why they were here, giving their time, passions, and skills to this nascent idea when they could of course be doing this elsewhere. And they consistently mentioned three things: 1) they could be of service to the comunidad, 2) they felt that what they were doing really mattered, and 3) they could do it in a way where they actually could lead something and grow accordingly.
Second, I would often get some form of the question “where did you find all these amazing people?”—to which I would often respond with a variation of “oh, we didn’t Columbus anyone. The leaders were already there, they are just now more visible to you. We are trying to build the community and platform that makes that happen.”
Both still apply, in my opinion, and will still be embedded in the root work. Because those early ideas and values of network leadership principles are still present and nurtured by the organizational leadership. It is a type of “mycelial leadership” as I call it. And you may or may not know, that itself is part of what connects and nurtures roots.
I am excited about what the Latino Outdoors of 10 years from now will be like. How it will exist in ways that I was looking for when we first founded it. How it will be rooted in the ways that helped establish itself and grow and have strong roots that help it weather storms. But also, just as importantly, in the ways that it evolves and is interconnected in the ecology that is the community of this work.
Raíces containing the memory of its planting, while changing in and with the soil they call home.
José González is the Founder of Latino Outdoors. He is a professional educator with training in the fields of education and conservation while engaging in different artistic endeavors with art and messaging—often exploring the intersection of the environment and culture. He has broad experience as a K-12 public education teacher, environmental education advisor, outdoor education instructor and coordinator, and university adjunct faculty. As a Partner in the Avarna Group and through his own consulting, his work focuses on Equity & Inclusion frameworks and practices in the environmental, outdoor, and conservation fields. He is also an illustrator and science communicator.
