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Category: Vamos Outdoors

Latino Conservation Week 2026: Where Comunidad Meets Conservation

Por Latino Outdoors

Yo cuento because our stories, our communities, and our connections to the outdoors belong in the future of conservation.

Last month, Latino Outdoors joined communities across the country in celebrating Latino Conservation Week (LCW), an initiative of Hispanic Access Foundation that highlights Latino leadership in conservation and the outdoors. LCW affirms something our comunidades already know: Latinos have long been part of loving and caring for the outdoors. The week also creates opportunities for our communities to be heard in decisions affecting the places where we live, gather, and recreate.

Across the Latino Outdoors network, LCW took many forms. In Ventura County, young people explored the Santa Clara River close to home, many for the first time. In the San Francisco Bay Area, comunidad walked among the redwoods at Muir Woods with Spanish-language interpretation and searched for tarantulas at Sunol Wilderness Preserve. On California’s Central Coast, participants visited a habitat restoration site shaped by community members and local students. San Diego brought conservation and cultura together through kayaking, music, and stewardship. Our Austin, Texas, partners gathered for tree planting, environmental education, and ancestral practices. Together, these events showed the many ways recreation, culture, learning, and stewardship can bring people closer to the outdoors.

In Los Angeles, nearly 300 community members gathered for the Latino Conservation Week Community Pachanga: Comunidades, Parks, y Public Lands at Metabolic Studio, an arts and community garden space near Los Angeles State Historic Park and Chinatown. Metabolic Studio, Hispanic Access Foundation, Sierra Club – Angeles Chapter, and the Audubon Center at Debs Park helped lead and organize the gathering alongside Latino Outdoors and partners, including the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), GreenLatinos, California State Parks, TreePeople, LA Compost, Nature for All, and Community Nature Connection. Throughout the Pachanga, partners connected conservation with issues affecting our communities, including extreme heat, access to green space, wildfire resilience, food systems, environmental justice, and safe outdoor spaces.

Latino Outdoors also joined the 30×30 y Nuestra Comunidad: A Conversation for the Future panel, organized with Hispanic Access Foundation and GreenLatinos. Alongside fellow panelists, we explored the CA 30×30 Initiative, California’s effort to conserve 30 percent of its lands and coastal waters by 2030, and what it can mean for environmental justice, equitable access, stewardship, and Latino communities.

Community-centered advocacy needs to remain central and extend beyond Latino Conservation Week, as we consider the long-term impacts that changes to public lands and environmental protections can have on communities already experiencing safety concerns, rising costs, and a nature gap. This is at a time when federal actions and private development interests are putting pressure on public lands, Latino Outdoors is working with community partners to provide spaces to share and learn from one another, with the hopes that we can collectively gather to understand how our unified voice can hold the line, push back, and hold decision makers accountable.

One example is the federal proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, or Roadless Rule. The rule limits certain road construction and timber activities across millions of acres of national forest land, helping protect forests, watersheds, wildlife habitat, and recreation areas. The 2026 proposal affects nearly 45 million acres nationwide, including approximately 4.4 million acres in California. The public process also raised concerns about meaningful participation. The Forest Service initially provided roughly one month for public comment before extending the deadline by 15 days, a timeframe conservation groups argued was insufficient for a proposal of this scale. While the general public comment period closed on October 6, consultation with Tribes is expected to continue as part of the federal government’s legal responsibilities. Public engagement is necessary to ensure communities have the information, time, and opportunity to weigh in on decisions that can shape public lands for generations, including all those that depend on them.

Latino Conservation Week (LCW) shows what this work can look like: with LO’s semillitas discovering a local river, families learning beneath redwoods, neighbors restoring habitat, cultura and música filling outdoor spaces, and community members speaking up for places they value. These experiences reflect Latino Outdoors’ commitment to the organization’s mission, values, and advocacy priorities: equitable access, environmental justice, and a conservation movement that reflects the diversity of our communities

Our stories and our voices matter beyond Latino Conservation Week. Stay informed about public lands, conservation, and opportunities to take action by signing up for Yo Cuento: Advocacy Updates. And because advocacy also begins with telling our own stories, we invite you to share your story with Yo Cuento Blog and help broaden the narrative of who belongs, participates, and leads in the outdoors.

References

Am I Running Out of Time?

por Richard “Flaco” Flores

My doctor looked at me and said: “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go on this trip.”

It was 2023. I had spent months planning the Walker’s Haute Route (WHR), a 130-mile hike from Chamonix to Zermatt through the Swiss Alps. I’d booked the huts, mapped the route, trained for it. And just like that, I had to cancel everything. You can’t plan for when health issues may pop up. It was devastating. And it planted a question in my head that wouldn’t go away: Am I running out of time for the big adventures?

I came to hiking late. I grew up in Los Angeles and the outdoors wasn’t exactly part of the world I grew up in. It wasn’t until I moved to Portland, Oregon that nature became part of my life. And once it did, I was drawn immediately to the mountains. The big views. The hikes that make you feel like you earned something hard. The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) in 2021 opened a door and the WHR was waiting on the other side.

It took three years of mental and physical work to get back on track. In 2026, even though it was five years after I had set my sights on the WHR, I felt ready.

My start was amazing. Great weather, good views, and the anticipation and excitement carried me through. On Day 3, I stood at the top of the Fenêtre d’Arpette, a pass I’d skipped on the TMB and had been waiting years to do. The views were endless. I felt elated in a way I had not in a while. This was also one of the hardest passes on the entire route, so my confidence was back on high again.

But then on Day 5, my ankle and foot started acting up. The big pass and the endless views were not totally free. Out of nowhere, mid-morning, a pain I couldn’t ignore. The questions and doubts came back louder: Can I still do this?

But from my experience on the trail, when the body struggles, nature steps in. I pulled energy from the mountains, the wildflowers, the streams, and I pushed. You put your head down. You walk. You learn to listen to your body and also learn when to pull. You rest when you need to. You learn to take the easier path without guilt. You meet others, some even older than you, still out there. Quiet support alongside you, cheering each other on, waiting for you with a cold beer in hand at the hut.

That’s how it goes on the trail. A series of highs and lows. And in this journey, you always come out ahead.

On Day 13, I stopped at a waterfall. It wasn’t the biggest or most dramatic, but it was loud. The kind of loud that fills your chest. The water came all the way down from a glacier above, and I could see the whole thing, from the ice at the top to where it crashed below me. I just stood there. Sunblock and tears. I thought about 2023. The doctor’s appointment. The cancellation. Now here I was, standing next to this roaring waterfall, one day from the finish. I couldn’t believe it.

I walked into Zermatt fourteen days after leaving Chamonix. Exhausted. Proud in a way I rarely let myself feel. It took a day or two to sink in, that I had done the thing I had to cancel three years earlier. That I had answered my own question: “I am stronger than what I give myself credit for”

The WHR taught me to push and pull. When to rest and when to go. When to take the easier path and when to dig deeper. To enjoy the highs, and to learn from the lows. To reset mentally every day, and soak in how lucky I was to be there, to have enjoyed those views, to still be standing.

Because we are stronger than what we give ourselves credit for.

Go. It will be good for you.

¡Vamos!

Richard “Flaco” Flores is a Latino hiker based in Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Los Angeles with no access to the outdoors and discovered hiking as an adult, and eventually as a lifeline. He documents his hikes on YouTube and Instagram at @AndarConElFlaco, creating content for the Latino outdoor community. This summer he completed the Walker’s Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt through the Swiss Alps and is always looking forward to the next adventure.

Raíces, Ruedas y Comunidad / Roots, Wheels and Community

Por Gabriela Hydle

There are weeks that remind you exactly why you started. The past few weeks have been exactly that a beautiful, unexpected, overflowing reminder of why Bici Libre exists and what community truly looks like when it is built with love, intention, and a whole lot of cumbia.


Hay semanas que te recuerdan exactamente por qué empezaste. Las últimas semanas han sido exactamente eso un hermoso, inesperado y desbordante recordatorio de por qué existe Bici Libre y cómo se ve la comunidad cuando se construye con amor, intención y mucha cumbia.

A Spanish Yoga Class / Una Clase de Yoga en Español

It started with breath. We gathered for a Spanish-language yoga class and watched something magical happen beautiful people joining us for the first time, and others who have been coming to our events and keep coming back. Together we moved through poses, settled into stillness, and ended in savasana breathing together, resting together, while enjoying a sound bath. The room held people from across the Americas, and in that silence, every single one of us belonged.


Todo empezó con el aliento. Nos reunimos para una clase de yoga en español y vimos algo mágico suceder personas hermosas uniéndose por primera vez, y otras que han estado viniendo a nuestros eventos y siguen regresando. Juntos nos movimos, encontramos la quietud y terminamos en savasana respirando juntos, descansando juntos, cuándo disfrutábamos de un baño sonoro. El espacio reunió personas de toda América, y en ese silencio, cada uno de nosotros pertenecía.

Taking the Stage at Denver Bike Fest / En el Escenario del Denver Bike Fest

Then came one of our proudest moments yet we took the stage at Denver Bike Fest to teach a basic bike mechanic class entirely in Spanish. Two incredible teachers shared with the community how to check your bike before a ride and how to change a tire on the trail because we never want anyone to feel discouraged and give up. We want to empower every rider to keep going.


Luego llegó uno de nuestros momentos más orgullosos subimos al escenario del Denver Bike Fest para enseñar una clase básica de mecánica de bicicleta completamente en español. Dos increíbles maestras compartieron con la comunidad cómo revisar tu bici antes de una rodada y cómo cambiar una llanta en el camino — porque nunca queremos que nadie se desanime y se rinda. Queremos empoderar a cada ciclista para que siga adelante.


And then the music started.


Y entonces comenzó la música.


El Salvaje took over and the rhythms of cumbia, salsa, and cha cha cha filled the air and people came. Like bees to honey, they were drawn to our space. And gathered around us were voices and stories from Panama 🇵🇦, Mexico 🇲🇽, Peru 🇵🇪, Colombia 🇨🇴, Guatemala 🇬🇹, Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 and beyond each person speaking their own beautiful words, their own expressions, their own flavor of our shared language, it was a tapestry.


El Salvaje tomó el escenario y los ritmos de la cumbia, la salsa y el cha cha cha llenaron el aire y la gente llegó. Como miel para las abejas, fueron atraídos a nuestro espacio. Y reunidos alrededor de nosotros había voces e historias de Panamá 🇵🇦, México 🇲🇽, Perú 🇵🇪, Colombia 🇨🇴, Guatemala 🇬🇹, Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 y más, cada persona hablando con sus propias palabras hermosas, sus propias expresiones, su propio sabor de nuestro idioma compartido, era un tapiz.

The Weekend of Wheels / El Fin de Semana de las Ruedas


And then this weekend arrived with its own kind of magic. 18 riders. Two routes 10 and 26 miles. Two incredible leaders. Two amazing sweepers. And a community that showed up for each other in every possible way.


Y luego llegó este fin de semana con su propia magia. 18 ciclistas. Dos rutas 10 y 26 millas. Dos líderes increíbles. Dos sweepers maravillosos. Y una comunidad que se apoyó mutuamente en cada manera posible.


People shared snacks. People shared words of encouragement. People shouted ¡Vamos! when someone needed it most. Nobody was left behind. Nobody rode alone. And the next morning I got many messages of how people felt welcome, felt seen, and felt like they belonged.


La gente compartió snacks. La gente compartió palabras de aliento. La gente gritó ¡Vamos! cuando alguien más lo necesitaba. Nadie se quedó atrás. Nadie rodó solo. Y a la mañana siguiente recibí mensajes de cómo cada persona en esa rodada se sintió bienvenida, se sintió vista y se sintió parte de algo.

What All of This Means / Lo que Todo Esto Significa


Bici Libre It is a space that says you are here, you matter, and this was always yours.


Bici Libre es un espacio que dice estás aquí, importas, y esto siempre fue tuyo.


Yoga. Mechanic classes. Cumbia. Miles on the trail. Snacks shared between strangers who became friends. This is what we are building one breath, one pedal stroke, one ¡Vamos! at a time.


Yoga. Clases de mecánica. Cumbia. Millas en el sendero. Snacks compartidas entre extraños que se convirtieron en amigos. Esto es lo que estamos construyendo un aliento, una pedalada, un ¡Vamos! a la vez.

Gabriela Hydle is a coach and ambassador for VNTR Birds, an ambassador for POW, Women of Colorado, a volunteer with LO, COMBA, and Mile High 360, a member of the Coalition for Everyone Outdoors Colorado. A Regional Community Stewards Program with Bikepacking Roots. A Waldorf Early Childhood and Spanish teacher.