Idaho Latino Conservation Week encourages outdoor access, promotes diversity in conservation

Latino Conservation Week begins next week in Idaho, offering a weeklong series of events meant to engage Latino families in conservation and encourage outdoor access.

The events are hosted by a variety of community partners, including the city of Boise, the Nampa School District, the Idaho Sierra Club, the Hispanic Access Foundation, Idaho Hispanic Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, Golden Eagle Audubon Society, Idaho Immigrant Resource Alliance, and many others.

Events will take place from Saturday to Sept. 22. Every event is free and family-friendly, according to a news release from The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit helping organize the event.

Traci Swift, a digital marketing specialist with The Nature Conservancy, said Latino Conservation Week is about promoting diversity in conservation.

“Historically, conservation has been very white dominated,” Swift told the Sun.

“Latino Conservation Week allows us to start those community relationships where we can help break down barriers that Latino communities may face when it comes to outdoor recreation and conservation efforts, as well as while we’re promoting conservation, making sure that Latino voices and experiences are included in all the conversations.”

Latino Conservation Week is a national event organized by the Hispanic Access Foundation, a Latino advocacy nonprofit.

While it celebrated the 10th anniversary of the event last year, this year is the third year that the event has been coordinated in Idaho.

“We want to get Idaho on the map and say, in Idaho, the Hispanic population, the leaders, the community leaders, we have organized this and we want to support national conservation,” event organizer Eva Aguilar told the Sun.

Aguilar is a Nampa business owner of Super Nutrition. Her business is a part of the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and it is organizing the closing ceremony on Sept. 21.

Aguilar said her business is focused on promoting mental health, which she said is not spoken enough about among the Latino community.

“Latino Conservation Week was created to support the Latino community to get outdoors and participate in activities to protect our natural resources, and also be involved in activities that make you feel better,” Aguilar said.

“The goal for this week is also to provide outdoor recreation opportunities that are near their homes.”