Through Latino Outdoors’ Vamos Outdoors and other programs, we work to:

• Provide members of Latinx and other underrepresented communities with transformative outdoor experiences
• Foster leadership and professional development opportunities for our volunteers and staff
• Contribute to a richer, more representative narrative of outdoor engagement by diverse communities

LO offers free outdoor activities and supports people who are receiving their introduction to nature, creating a welcoming and family-friendly environment with outings that weave together aspects of culture, community, wellness, and connection. Guided by LO’s theory of change, volunteers craft outdoor experiences that emphasize connections between people, place, process, and policy. The goals are to inspire participants’ conservation ethic, encourage their evolving engagement in outdoor recreation, and perhaps most importantly, recognize and celebrate the different ways in which diverse communities already connect with the outdoors. LO believes these outcomes will arise naturally if individuals and communities have an equitable opportunity to play and recreate outdoors.

This approach works. Over time, we have witnessed a rise in LO’s stewardship-focused programming as outing leaders begin to build on the connections their communities make with the outdoors. From San Diego to New York City, LO’s volunteers and outing participants are planting natives, pulling invasives, cleaning up beaches and riverbanks, and learning together what it means to care for the environment. Additionally, our volunteers are leading increasingly varied forms of outdoor recreation, from backpacking to bioblitzes, botanical walks to biking, and beyond, as they build their own and participants’ confidence and enthusiasm for the outdoors.