21 Aug Latino Conservation Week Celebration Event: Bilingual Programming for All Ages

Dear Reader,

So much has happened since my last post. For the last month I have geared into creating, executing and leading the first ever Latino Conservation Week event at Salem Maritime National Historic Site! For the event we decorated the Derby garden with Latino countries flags, and Mexican Papel picado banners, an event tent and table where we played Latin music and had a coloring table for kiddos.

Derby garden decorated for LCW event.

Event Table with LHIP intern Ash.

What is Latino Conservation Week?

Latino Conservation Week (LCW) is about providing an opportunity for Latinos to come together and to demonstrate their passion for the outdoors, preservation and conservation. LCW helps break down barriers for Latino communities to access public lands and waters, and it encourages new opportunities for engagement and inspires the next generation for environmental stewards.

My favorite place at SAMA  has always been the Derby Garden. If you sit quietly and really take a look you can see how the garden behaves. How the butterflies dance around the flowers and milkweed, the bees race for pollen, and the birds, squirrels and bunnies forage the fruit trees and insets. So much harmony in one place. The more you look around the more you notice. Why not share that with the community?

Derby Garden

I quickly decided that this event would be most successful if I peaked the interest of the elementary aged kids. I create a Junior Ranger Garden scavenger hunt booklet. The hunt consisted of locating plants, animals and insects and along the way kiddos could learn new facts about them! The booklet was in both Spanish and English, as I created both versions I found myself learning new Spanish words and facts. When they finished they could be sworn in by a Ranger and receive a goodie bag filled with stickers and pins.

I also wanted to follow my interest in teaching history in a way that is both informative and entertaining. I choose to give a bilingual walking tour that follows a brief history of Salem’s maritime history. Starting by the event table, down to Derby Wharf and ending in the Derby House. Visitors learned how Salem fit into the bigger picture of maritime history, which countries/colonies it traded with and what products came into Salem’s ports.

Throughout the week I was able to do some digital outreach. I created digital flyers on five ways to celebrate Latino Conservation Week, posted an employee spotlight for Latino Ranger Fernando and what conservation means to him, and lastly created an Instagram reel that highlighted the Derby Garden.

LCW info-graphic – ENGLISH.

LCW info-graphic – SPANISH.

Overall the event had about 80-100 visitors stop by the event. We gave out and sworn in about ten Junior Rangers. The walking tours created room for great conversations surrounding  the town of Salem, maritime history and the Derby Family. Most importantly we spread the word about Latino Conservation Week and its importance.

To learn more about Latino Conservation Week and find about all the other amazing event that happened around you check out: https://latinoconservationweek.com/

Thanks for reading! Till next time,

Ash Martinez