Latino Conservation Week in Boston

Latino Conservation Week is an initiative of the Hispanic Access Foundation, created to support the Latinx community in getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. For Latino Conservation Week this year, my park is highlighting the Latino community in Boston and across the National Park Service to learn about their roles in protecting natural, cultural, and recreational resources. From July 16th – July 24th, there will be a series of events led by Latinx park service employees that highlight and support conservation efforts. The activities range from free yoga & nature meditation led by a Park Ranger to workshop classes on how to create a postcard with recycled paper led by a Park Ranger. You can read more about the list of events on the NPS Boston National Historical Park Website.

To highlight my park’s Latinx employees and their work in conservation and preservation, I came up with the idea to run a week-long social media campaign called “Latino Conservation Week Employee Spotlight.” The purpose and intention of the campaign are to feature one park service employee each day, spotlighting their perspective on the significance of conservation work and sharing their contributions to the preservation of the environment and our Park resources. I interviewed eight employees, all part of different teams, including myself, and asked them a series of questions related to conservation. I pulled one quote from each interview that stood out to me and featured that in the post, along with the spanish and english translation. My goal with these posts is to help increase visibility and make all park related materials accessible, which is why all posts are in English and Spanish. This project was important to me because I wanted to give Latino park employees a space where they could feel uplifted and recognized for their efforts, not just around the park but around the community of Boston. Representation and accessibility are two things I advocate for around the park. I learned a lot about the people I interviewed and got to know them better than I did before. I learned about what people care about most and what they want to protect for themselves and the environment. Every employee I interviewed and employee I didn’t get a chance to interview plays a vital role in conservation. 

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