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Category: Semillitas Outdoors

Once Upon a Semillita

por Luisa Vargas

Books are a fountain of knowledge, they teach empathy, enhance critical thinking skills, and are a great way to engage in diverse perspectives. Libros are entertaining, powerful, and, most importantly, they help semillitas grow.

We’re in the middle of Semillitas Outdoors, our annual celebration of Latine children in the outdoors. This week, we’re organizing virtual conversations and in-person outings and events that center the experience of Latine children and their families. 

We believe providing Latine youth with increased opportunities to connect with the outdoors and access to leadership spaces can help them develop their leadership abilities. Spending time in nature is central to this idea, as is a life-long commitment to learning. We know libros and the outdoors combine to make wonderful teachers who will help semillitas take root and flourish into today’s leaders. 

We’ve gathered a list of books that focus on themes in nature. We encourage you to take a look at our full list of  Outdoors Books for Children and Young Adults which are great stories for adults too!

Books we’ve been reading this week

CHILDREN

  1. Pepe Plantasemillas is about comunidad y cultura, it’s also Latino Outdoors’ story and is written and illustrated by a group of dedicated LO Outing Leaders alongside our founder, José González. Pepe Plantasemillas is a vibrant and colorful bird. Follow Pepe on a journey to plant a magical seed of cultura y comunidad in different places while meeting new faces.
  2. Fatima’s Great Outdoors is a picture book by Ambreen Tariq, outdoors activist and founder of @BrownPeopleCamping. It follows the adventures of Fatima Khazi on a camping trip with her family. Fatima’s school week may not have gone as planned but outdoors, she can achieve anything! 

YOUNG ADULT

  1. The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition – Reyna Grande shares her personal experience of crossing borders and cultures in this middle-grade adaptation of her memoir, The Distance Between Us. 
  2. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World – As an Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer gathers serviceberries and reflects on reciprocity and the gift economy. She shares insights on what we can learn from the wisdom of plants and encourages us to reconsider what we truly value.  

Libros for free!

There are so many creative ways to find books for you and your semillita. Here are a few ideas that are free and support our comunidades:

  1. Public Libraries are great for finding physical and digital books! They offer other great resources for learning and host community events. Some even have state park passes you can borrow for free! If accessing an in-person library is difficult, most libraries offer digital options to check out books as well. 
  2. Free little libraries are community run, and a great way to interact with your neighbors while sharing books. You are encouraged to leave a book when you take one, but it’s not required! 
  3. Exchanging books with your friends, family, or you LO chapter! 
  4. Join your neighborhood Buy Nothing Facebook group.
  5. The internet! There are plenty of free digital books online. You can read LO’s very own Pepe Plantasemillas on our website. There are also resources like Project Gutenberg where you can find books for free. Most public libraries also have digital books you can check out from your computer without having to go to your local branch. 

We hope you and your semillitas find time to immerse yourself in a good story this week. Grab your book and a picnic blanket or find a park bench y vamos outdoors!

A Conversation with Una Semillita

por Luisa Vargas

Semillitas Outdoors is Latino Outdoors’ annual celebration of Latine children in the outdoors. From April 20 to April 28, we’ll be hosting virtual and in-person events that center the experience of Latine children and their families. 

This week is important to LO for many reasons. We understand that kids are the foundation of a vibrant future. Fostering a love for the outdoors early in life provides life-long benefits to individuals and the community. It’s also a way of honoring our raíces and our culturas which have always emphasized the importance of maintaining a connection between generations. 

Last year at a LO campout I met Maddie, a middle schooler and fellow Texan who enjoys being out in nature and has been uniquely touched by the magic of the LO comunidad from a very young age. Her grandma, Josie Gutierrez, happens to be LO’s Texas Regional Coordinator and has been fostering Maddie’s love for the outdoors since she was only four years old. 

This is the transcript of segments of a conversation held on April 3, 2024, between Luisa Vargas and Maddie. Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity and accuracy.

Interview Transcript:

What is your favorite thing about being outdoors? 

My favorite thing about being outdoors is seeing different plants and getting to learn more about them and different animals. I like all plants, and sometimes my favorite varies depending on how I feel. It’s kind of like whenever somebody asks me what my favorite song is. 

Do you have a favorite plant of the day?

I feel like bluebonnets are my favorite plant today. They have been blooming everywhere. 

What is your favorite memory of being outdoors? 

My favorite memory of being outdoors is probably my first campout with Latino Outdoors when I was four years old at Garner State Park. My grandma took me, my grandpa, my aunt, and my mom, and we went swimming in the Frio River and hiked a little bit. 

Have you gotten to go back since? 

Yes, many, many times. Not this year so far, but hopefully I will be able to. 

What’s your favorite place to camp in Texas? 

There are so many. It’s very hard to choose. I’m very indecisive about that. 

Can you tell us about when you started going to LO events and the person who started taking you? 

I started going to LO events when I was around five and my grandma started taking me. At LO events, we would table and we would help show kids about being in the outdoors and what’s fun about it. 

What is your favorite Semillitas Outdoors memory?

Probably tabling with my grandma. We get to help kids make little rocks, and they get to put their favorite thing about nature on them. I usually draw butterflies and ladybugs and flowers.

What advice would you give a person your age about going hiking or camping? 

I would probably say to bring comfy shoes and shoes that you don’t mind, to get a little bit messy and to not be nervous about it because it’s really fun. 

What is something that you’ve gotten better at or have overcome since you started going outdoors? 

Pack less when I go camping!

What do you want to be when you grow up and why? 

Right now, I’m indecisive about what I want to do, but I just know that I want to go to college in New York at NYU and just travel. I’m a city girl who still enjoys being outside.

“I’m Meant to Help”

por Liam López-Wagner

I’m Meant to Help

I love being outdoors. 

I like to see butterflies. 

They are so cool; I like that monarchs and all butterflies have four wings that they use to fly.

I like to think of moths as the cousins of butterflies. 

So many come out at night – their long antennas are beautiful.

I want kids to know everyone can love butterflies.

I love the rainbow and I see it in the colors of different butterflies.

I like patterns and transformations and I see them in nature.

Being outdoors makes me feel happy. 

I love the outdoors.

My mission in life is to help save the monarchs.

I’m meant to help.

I want people to care more about every animal and insect in the world. 

I don’t like the earth getting sick. 

I don’t want the planet to hurt, we can help it and help people care more about everything that lives here. 

Liam López-Wagner, 7, is the founder of Amigos for Monarchs. Amigos for Monarchs advocates for the conservation of monarchs & all pollinators. It hosts an annual milkweed seed sharing program to inspire the planting of native milkweed. Learn more at www.amigosformonarchs.org.


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