I walk amongst the trees
Brisk breeze flowing through my hair
I look up at my ancestors
Protectors of the land
Whispers of cries
What have we done to the land?
I follow their cries to the mountains
Gazing at our beloved earth
I see her yearning of thirst
Empty forest and black clouds
On the brink of collapse
Lands bare and seas empty
Senseless wars against nature
Man’s envy has overcome his humanity
Days are numbered
As we drift closer to extinction
What have we done to the land?
Nourish our earth for she will always forgive
Our shelter of wonders
Do not destroy her innocence
Our strength in numbers can heal
The earth is our teacher
The earth is our mother
The earth is our home
Without our home, we are nothing
Poem by: Maritza Oropeza Kritz
I believe the outdoors to be something that should be available to all. Whether it’s a hug of a much-needed breeze in the desert or the warmth of the sun on an alpine adventure, nature seems to provide all that I truly desire. Therefore, creating the bridges for more participation from communities of color within outdoor culture has become linked with my outdoor lifestyle. The memories, skills, and relationships that have come about because of my incessant “call of the wild” are truly priceless. The outdoors have given me the opportunity to identify with something bigger than myself.
To introduce myself, my name is Carlos Rodriguez. I am a first-gen Honduran-American. I think of myself as a proud, brown, non-binary, omega male born on the mainland of Honduras. La Lima to be exact. My parents were children of the great minds of Lorca, Neruda, and Quilapayun. Honduras has always been a battleground for basic human rights and the most recent turmoil has left many with no other option other than seeking refuge elsewhere. I share a vital parallel with these comrades. As a child of immigrants, our parents grow up believing that a better life exists in the United States. While my story will focus on the great outdoors and what it’s taught me, the heart of it all is exploring the world and designing my own life and opportunities in a way that my parents were never able to. By pursuing what I love, I can pay homage to the sacrifice my parents gave to give me this privilege in the first place.
My parents migrated to the United States in the late 90’s. Their move to the states ultimately resulted in them moving to Brooklyn, New York and eventually relocating to Birmingham, Alabama. I lived the majority of my life in Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. After a short stint trying out work opportunities, I decided to move back to NYC. This time I would reside in the Bronx for 7 years, and now I’m in Colorado writing this post the day after a successful summit of Longs Peak by me and my siblings. The outdoors has a way of always being fair and within that fairness is where all the possibilities begin. For me, it’s also where some of my best memories come from. To name a few examples, I have biked across Martha’s Vineyard, hiked north rim to south rim at the Grand Canyon, seen the fall foliage at Acadia, did “The Incline” with my father, and explored the Smokies at night. I explore this country because it gives me a constant flow of opportunities to satiate my “pioneering spirit”. I’ve always had a calling to push myself physically and I realized that the Rockies were always calling. At the end of 2021, I relocated to Denver, Colorado to expand my ability to experience the outdoors in a different way. Spotlighting the therapeutic value of engaging with different natural environments is something I believe to be foundationally American. How can we ever expect to truly understand the beauty of conservation efforts if Gunnison trout fishing is a hobby only reserved for your more conventional “outdoorsman?” This is the next paternal mold I have set out to deconstruct.
Throughout my life, I have come to terms with my own privileges and how they have given me the ability to explore on my terms. You should always choose to educate yourself before setting out on any new endeavors, but getting outside is as simple as taking a step out your door. If you find that you like being outside, you should make it a habit to spend time doing so. As you begin to develop an idea for how you like to spend your time, you can begin to budget for this lifestyle in a way that makes the most sense for you. I encourage you to not be fooled by the glamor of new product releases. The real value comes from getting to know the equipment needs of your adventure and keeping your eyes out for cost-effective ways of acquiring equipment, whether that be at yard sales, estate sales, and/or seasonal sales online/in-store. I strongly believe that this is vital information that must not skip another generation. My parents never had this type of access or knowledge, but I, thankfully, now do. Therefore, giving back to my community and creating more spaces for brown and black people to thrive outdoors is my leading motivation. Latino Outdoors is blazing such a unique trail. This is our opportunity to ensure that the connection we, as Brown people, have with the nature around us, returns in a way that allows more people like us to do the same. I want people to become aware of the role they play in ensuring future generations understand how to grow with nature. The seasonality of nature is something pure. We all should cherish the beauty the world offers while still seeing the beauty that resides within us all. Why not respect the outdoors at every turn? Thoreau would be proud of such an exceptional American. For in his blind pride, he would truly understand the meaning of being good, wild, and free!
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Latino Conservation Week: Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra (LCW) is an initiative of the Hispanic Access Foundation and was created to support the Latinx community in getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. That’s the official overview. To me, LCW is a week-long celebration of conservation, cultura, and comunidad.
At Latino Outdoors (LO), it’s safe to say that we celebrate conservation, cultura, and comunidad every day of the year. That’s who we are. Our small but mighty staff works daily to connect youth and families to the outdoors, often leading with a reminder that conservation is a part of our culture—whether it’s preventing wasteful use and reusing materials (who amongst us hasn’t had the bag, the shirt, the food storage container that has been used and reused long beyond its original purpose). Conservation also runs in our veins and manifests in the act of maintaining and passing on a deep connection to nature and working the land, whether by choice or by necessity. We aren’t new to nature and the outdoors. Caring for the planet is part of who we are; it’s part of our values. In fact, last year the Pew Research Center released a study that stated that most Latinx people in U.S. say that global climate change is an important concern. We call that conservation cultura.
We also celebrate our culture every day at Latino Outdoors. Through our Yo Cuento storytelling program, we share stories from across Latinx experiences and proudly serve as a platform to share the outdoor experiences of others through our social media accounts and growing YouTube channel. Whether we celebrate that culture through blog posts, videos, music, podcasts, dance or other forms, storytelling is one of the ways we work to create 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.
In addition to celebrating conservation and cultura every day, we also proudly engage in the work of building community and working within the many diverse Latinx communities across the country, each one with unique dialects, expressions, tastes, histories and heritage. With over 20 regions, ranging from Boston, Denver, Missoula, and Washington D.C. to Arkansas, San Antonio, Los Angeles and beyond, our volunteer leaders don’t just invite their communities on LO outings like hiking, kayaking, stewardship projects, bird watching or climbing, they also work within those communities to identify barriers and connect them to the local resources to help overcome them. Most of us are from intentionally marginalized communities, immigrant communities and front-line communities, so we don’t just plan a hike—we plan our hikes with lived experiences and a deep first-hand understanding of the urgent need to connect our communities to nature, breakdown barriers and fight for equitable access to the outdoors. Like many communities of color, the communities we collaborate with and are a part of live with the daily impacts of environmental injustice, of redlining practices, of social injustice, of generational traumas, with the impacts of racism, prejudice and intolerance.
Connecting children, families, early career professionals, students and individuals to nature isn’t just a matter of enjoying the view—though we do enjoy the view—it is a matter of physical and mental health and healing. It’s a matter of providing space within these open spaces where we can break into Spanish and English, share stories of abuelas and tíos y tías, comida y casa, stories of immigration and migration, stories that allow us to be ourselves, to celebrate ourselves and to know that we are part of a larger community. We also work in community with other organizations—the collaborations which allow us to reach a larger audience, to share our mission and vision and connect our people to opportunities and experiences they might miss out on otherwise. Latino Outdoors couldn’t do what we do without the strength of our relationships and the ties to the communities we’re a part of.
So, when I talk about celebrating conservation, cultura and comunidad, you could say it’s part of our DNA.
Still, there’s something incredible and unique about LCW. In the past few years, it has grown its nationwide presence with shout-outs and acknowledgments from National Geographic, the Department of Interior, California State Parks and Latinx policymakers like Senator Alex Padilla. With our partnership with the Hispanic Access Foundation, LCW2022 is planned to feature over 100 in-person activities throughout the week in collaboration with local community-based organizations, national brands, government agencies and nonprofits while, at the same time, LO will also be celebrating with videos, art, virtual panels and more. Thanks to the behind-the-scenes work of incredible organizers at the Hispanic Access Foundation and our team at LO, this year’s LCW promises to be an incredible week featuring panels, videos, events, an LCW photo contest, a sticker contest and our second annual LCW Achievement Awards.
Inspired by #BlackBirdersWeek, and in part by #NationalParkWeek, Latino Conservation Week has been celebrating with daily themes for three years. Themes and topics of focus this year will include #LCW2022KickOff, #RecreateResponsibly, #AguaEsVida, #AdvocacyAfuera, #ConservationCultura, #ComunidadYFamilia and #YoCuento. All are invited to join the celebration regardless of background or heritage, because as much as Latino Conservation Week is about nuestra gente, it’s also a celebration of the work we all do in the name of protecting our planet, being good stewards, opening doors of opportunity and establishing lifelong connections to nature and the outdoors—whether that’s a patch of grass in Brooklyn and Los Angeles or a vista view overlooking the Rocky Mountains.
For my part, I’ll be spending Latino Conservation Week attending hikes highlighting the importance of national monuments and protecting public lands and remembering those childhood memories of my Papá, as a brand new immigrant from Mexico, taking my Hermano and me fishing in Colorado for the first time, or memories from more recent years of my Mamá and our recent experiences kayaking and exploring urban parks in Los Angeles where she summed up the work of conservation with a simple sentence and powerful reminder (as only familia and comunidad can remind d0): “es tu parque cuídalo.”
It’s your park, take care of it.
If you’d like to be a part of the Latino Conservation Week celebration, visit LatinoConservationWeek.com and follow the hashtag #LCW2022 or #LatinoConservationWeek on social media. Join us for this week of conservation, cultura, and comunidad. Nos vemos pronto.
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See the original article posted by Osprey by clicking here.
Christian La Mont is the Program Manager for LO’s storytelling and communications program, Yo Cuento.
Latino Outdoors works to inspire, connect and engage Latino communities in the outdoors and embrace cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative, ensuring our history, heritage and leadership are valued and represented. Check out our website!
