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Big Basin Community Campout

A few months ago, Jennifer Adams (SF Bay Area Regional Coordinator) and some of the Latino Outdoors SF Bay Area volunteers; led a Community Campout at Big Basin Redwoods State Park located in the Santa Cruz mountains. For some of the participants, it was their first time going camping. The attendees consisted of families, couples, and a few individuals.  The weekend was full of playing boardgames, a hike, a visit from a local ranger, sitting around the campfire, eating pan dulce, making s’mores, learning the importance of “Leave No Trace” principles and lots of rain.

Thanks to the Bay Area Wilderness Training Program, Jennifer was able to secure sleeping bags, sleeping pads and tents for the participants. The first night consisted of learning how to set of tents, mingling, sitting around the campfire and watching the kids play games and eating some delicious Pan dulce brought by one of the families.

Some of the children playing board games. @Veronica Miranda

Pan dulce time! @Veronica Miranda

Getting cozy by the fire. @Veronica Miranda

On the second day of the campout there was some heavy rain in the morning. After breakfast, some of the participants headed over to a nearby shelter to relax and play games while everyone waited on the rain to ease up. The rain gave participants time to bond and get to know each each other. The group consisted of educators, biologists, mechanics, theater actors, students, photographers, mothers and fathers. We were enjoying the outdoors together and that’s the beauty of Latino Outdoors. We strive to create spaces where people can be comfortable with one another and be part of an outdoor culturally relevant community.

The children playing board games. @Raul Hernandez

SF Bay Area volunteer Olga Hernandez enjoying a game of cards with her daughters. @Raul Hernandez

Later in the day,  California State Parks ranger Scott Sipes came to speak to the group about the history of Big Basin, the Marbled Murrelet bird who nests in the park, activities and programs that Big Basin has over the summer, and answered all the questions that the kids asked.

California State Park Ranger Scott Sipes speaking to the group. @Raul Hernandez

The Ranger Scott Sipes answering all the kids questions, and boy did the have a lot! @Raul Hernandez

After the visit from the ranger, part of the group went on a hike to see the native species of plants and trees and nearby waterfall.

SF Bay Area Volunteers Olga Hernandez & Elisa Gallegos examining a map of Big Basin trails. @Veronica Miranda

The group on the trail.@ Raul Hernandez

On the trail. @Raul Hernandez

SF Bay Area volunteer Olga Hernandez leading the group. @Raul Hernandez

Group photo with the waterfall. @Raul Hernandez

Headed back to camp for lunch.@Veronica Miranda

After the hike, it was time to relax, for the adults at least. The children were filled with energy, they built forts, played tag and most off all got a chance to explore the beauty of Big Basin. The children were able to build friendships with one another. While watching the kids play, I am humbled by the fact that Latino Outdoors was able to provide the group with a camping experience with the help of California State Parks and the San Francisco Foundation Grant. With the help of other organizations we work together to provide safe spaces to local communities so they can get to know their local open spaces and gain knowledge of what to bring in the outdoors and how to pack it out and “Leave no Trace.”

Children picking teams for a game of tag. @Veronica Miranda

Building a fort. @Veronica Miranda

The kids trying to come up with ideas on how to get the adults to bring the S’mores out for the 50th time. @Veronica Miranda

After dinner, Jennifer Adams (SF Bay Area Regional Coordinator)  spoke about the importance of having as little garbage as possible that way we have little impact on the natural ecosystem. She went on to mention the importance of respecting the area and the native wild animals who live in Big Basin.

Reusable water basin. @Veronica Miranda

Washing station. @Veronica Miranda

After dinner it was time for S’mores and conversations. People were code switching, speaking in English and Spanish, laughing, having a good time. I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Angelica & Karla Marroquin; Karla has been on a few of Latino Outdoors’ outings and her mother, Angelica joins when she is able. I asked them how their experience was camping with Latino Outdoors; Karla stated “very welcoming & comfortable” she felt she was taking “baby steps” into camping. Angelica felt “comfortable being around people she could resonate with.”

S’mores! @Veronica Miranda

As the conversations decreased and people went into their tents to call it a night all I could think of is this is how you build community. By bringing people from all walks of life together to have conversations and experiences, we were just fortunate to be able to do it outdoors.

Until next time….

~Veronica Miranda; Social Media Coordinator/ San Francisco Bay Area North Program Coordinator

 

The Big Basin Campout was a success! Thank you to the following sponsors and donors for your generosity! Alite, Back to the Roots, Bay Area Wilderness Training, California State Parks, Nalgene, SeaToSummit, and The San Francisco Foundation.

Photos courtesy of Raul Hernandez and Veronica Miranda

A huge thank you to Jennifer Adams (SF Bay Area Regional Coordinator), for her continuous guidance, and hard work! Thank you to all the SF Bay Area volunteers, Ana Maria Coca, Carlos Miranda, Elisa Gallegos, Olga Calderon, Raul Hernandez and Veronica Miranda

Jennifer Adams (pictured center with backpack), welcomes everyone to the campout and goes over important information and itinerary for the weekend. @Veronica Miranda

“Yo Cuento Outdoors”~The Stories Of Latino Outdoors. Part 6

Originally posted at: FitFunAnd.com

“Yo Cuento Outdoors” is back!

 

Latino Outdoors is a wonderful Organization that provides many of us Volunteers and Leaders with a platform to amplify the Latino experience in the outdoors; providing greater opportunities for leadership, mentorship, professional opportunities and serving as a platform for sharing cultural connections and narratives that are often overlooked by the traditional outdoor movement. It is a space for the community to be present, share their voices, and showcase how conservation roots have been ingrained in Latino cultura for generations.

My pleasure to highlight Maricela ‘Marci’ Rosales~Outdoor Brands Coordinator for LO.

I had the pleasure of meeting Marci last summer and if I had to sum her up in three words they would be … passionate, energetic and fearless, she is a Force of Nature no doubt!

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”

– Edmund Hillary

What are the earliest memories of you in the outdoors with a connection to Nature?

My earliest memory was swinging on a hammock looking up and looking at the two different trees, the sun was peeking through both trees creating shapes and bringing in glimmers of light. I remember the trees swaying and rustling. I would take naps outside because I loved the way the wind and trees made music together. I noticed that the hammock was being held by these two trees and my curiosity convinced me to climb the Palm tree. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. I like climbing things.

How do you connect to doing what you do now in the outdoor space?

I have a long story. Haha. I will say that growing up I was disconnected to outdoor spaces. I never thought that my backyard was an outdoor space. Schools didn’t go to State Parks or the Angeles Forests, there were no community gardens, and there was a lot of concrete. Los Angeles at the time lacked safe outdoor spaces. My family worked a lot so we really didn’t recreate. I was also bit sheltered because of my disability. I would sit in my room and look at the national geographic books my dad used to collect. While looking at the amazing images in my mind at a very early age, it was something that I always wanted to do but didn’t know how to get there, where to start looking or what would be “my thing”. In my teens, we moved out of the inner city and in the Latino Suburbs is where I realized there was less trash, more parks, and green lawns.  At my new high school, I took AP Biology and really liked it. I was convinced this was the way in to find my calling. When I got accepted to UC Riverside as an Environmental Science Major. It didn’t take long for me to switch majors I couldn’t pay attention at the time. To many things were happening, my dad’s health was declining, I was commuting from Riverside to LA county regularly to help my dad and to work, and I was in physical pain that kept me from focusing on my studies.

Something happened when I switched my major to Sociology/Law & Society, different sociological phenomenon’s, demographics of communities, disparities and crime opened my mind to the world. It blew me away that so many things were interconnected and not one thing moved on its own when it came to our social world. At the same time, I got the help I needed to improve my well-being and got involved in the outdoors by getting a job at the Challenge course on campus. My dreams started coming together in different ways and I loved where things were going. I got into rock climbing and that in itself became a huge part of where I am today in life. Because of my experiences I have become an advocate and invested volunteer. Giving time to organizations like Latino Outdoors, Access Fund, and Nature For All has opened many opportunities for me and the surrounding communities I work with in Los Angeles. I am but one person but my goal is to share what I have with others so they too can benefit from outdoor spaces, access, and wellness. I want them to be volunteers, to get those jobs in the Outdoor Industry and I want the community where I come from to be champions of the land.

What make the outdoors special to you and do you have a favorite hike?

The outdoors is a special place for me because it’s a place to heal, to explore, to protect. It could be your back yard, your local park, and your rivers and forests. I connect while I’m climbing outside. I don’t have a favorite hike but I do like venturing into the San Gabriel National Monument. I really like the Horse Flats Campground area.

How do you celebrate the connections between a Latinx identity and the outdoors?

Some of the folks that venture on outings in Los Angeles are doing it for the first time. Making them relatable and inclusive is important. Partnering with other organizations and rangers to translate builds trust. Making the outdoors relatable is important to celebrating diversity. Bringing in culture and storytelling helps celebrate the identify of people participating.

How do you see yourself “counting” in the outdoors and in the community around you?

In the summer, LO Los Angeles had their first campout and it was a lot of fun. We went to Malibu Creek State Park where we played in the water, went to the visitor center, saw some planets with a very big telescope, and we all made dinner together. On the last day, we talked about the importance of protecting places and picked up trash along the way. Families who participated mentioned their desire to get involved in their local communities; having a voice and amplifying the importance of what they felt mattered to them. To me it’s about leading and having others come into your place collectively using each other’s strengths to make things happen for the greater good. Maybe it’s not huge change but impacts come in all shapes and sizes.  As a woman of color with my experiences I feel inspired and responsible to be a part of change. Not a bone in my body is doing this for the wrong reasons.

Why does what you do matter to you?

It matters because I believe all communities benefit from outdoors spaces, from access to recreate, it creates sustainable communities.

Muchas Gracias Maricela for sharing what the outdoors means to you. I love the fact that you are not just hiking to the mountain but climbing it as well. You are truly a Latino Outdoors inspiration and may you continue to pave new paths on your aventuras Amiga : ).

 

Everyone has their own story on what they love most about Nature and what keeps them there. What is it that draws you to the wild open spaces?

Fitfunand  … Latina Outdoors.

“Yo Cuento Outdoors”~The Stories Of Latino Outdoors. Part 5

Originally posted on fitfunand.com

Posted on  

Author: Josie Gutierrez – Ambassador. San Antonio, TX

I continue to tell the stories of Latino Outdoors because I know that as we continue to grow we continue our tales. Latino Outdoors has a vision. A world where all Latino communities enjoy nature as a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place – a world where the outdoors is a place to share and celebrate stories, knowledge, and culture, while growing leadership and an active community of Latino outdoor users, mentors, and stewards.

I am excited to share the story of our Wyoming Outings Leader~Asnoldo Benitez (Oz). Asnoldo was accepted to the Teton Science School Graduate Program this fall and he can’t wait to take what he learns there back into the community he works with in Colorado! I have had the pleasure of seeing first hand what a sweet, smart and genuine human he is. He is definitely a force of Nature! I am excited to see what more his future will bring. The story of Oz!

What are the earliest memories of you and the outdoors or a connection to nature?

My earliest memories of myself and nature include my grandmother “Trudy” Gertrude Placida (Valerio) Lucero. I want to include her full name because besides being my grandmother she was; a community connector, caregiver, parent of six, traveler and more. Before I was of school age, she would care for me during the day. We would walk to the park and along the ditch from her home in Aberdeen Idaho, she taught me to identify asparagus along the way. we would carry rocks and place them in the grass next to the cache of vegetation so we could easily revisit and harvest later. Grandma and I did these walks for the remainder of our time together till she passed in 2013. We didn’t mark asparagus with stones but looking back we did mark mile stones with stories and tea.

What is your story and how did you connect to doing what you do now in the outdoor space?

From one career to the next, I looked at the full trajectory of one and decided I wanted to live, work and play in the same industry. So from Engineering to Outdoor education I transitioned and my journey has been three years in the making. Beginning with volunteering and internships to see what I could offer the industry and what the industry could offer me. I found my way to currently attending a fellowship in a Masters program in Environmental Education at the Teton Science School in the Teton National Park!

What makes the outdoors special to you?

Learning what to eat and how makes the outdoors a special experience connecting to my root human identity – what flora and fauna I can enjoy. I connect via a question I ask myself: how would the elders have respectfully lived off this flora, fauna or fungi?

How do you celebrate the connections between a Latinx identity and the outdoors? How do you see yourself “counting” in the outdoors?

I celebrate with the trail-flare I decided to include in my outfit and the two languages I have always used to describe the outdoors. I see myself counting both as a male education and a POC in the outdoor industry both demographics are growing.

How do you see it in others and the community around you?

I see the connections between Latinx identity and the outdoors in our language, style of dress, references to Selena and other iconic figures. It’s the in-between time on the trail that identity and personality are most present. Honestly the rest of the time we are just tourist and enthusiast like everyone else – in awe of nature.

Why does what you do matter to you?

Besides being able to work a passion, what I do matters because as mammals with the biggest impact on the land we need to be more aware and manage that impact. By educating and sharing love and respect for the outdoors. I am helping grow the cohort of environmentalist who will lead the charge for the future generations in research, natural resource management, and recreation.

What would be on your outdoor bucket list?

My outdoor bucket list would be biking from North America to South America, like Andres Esparza. Visiting Alaska for a back packing trip and doing one if not all three of the long through hikes in North America.

What is your favorite outdoor experience to date?

My favorite outdoor experience was a 6 day back packing trip with friends in Glacier National Park with three back to back days of 20 miles, it was my first blister pop on the trail and I thought I broke my foot. My foot hurt so bad (ouch).

What keeps you motivated in the outdoors?

The thought that one day this continents full history will be shared and honored as the national treasure it is. So out front that no one can miss it. “No one person can do everything, but we can all do something”.

Muchas Gracias Asnoldo (Oz) for sharing your beautiful story with us. I especially loved hearing that your Abuela was the first memory of you and the outdoors. She connected you to the space that you have now embraced and this has become a huge part of what you are continuing to become, a role model to your friends, family and the LO community! Keep on being you and may your adventures be many and your tales be rich in nature.

The end!!

Fitfunand … “Yo Cuento Outdoors”.

Southwest Ambassador~Josie Gutierrez