Latino Outdoors Colorado seeks to create a world where all members of the Latinx community have access to nature.
COLORADO, USA – Latino Outdoors Colorado is an organization that aims to change the narrative around what it means to be “outdoors.”
The group is led by Modesta McGrath-Martinez.
“When we see ourselves as outdoor experts, they don’t like us,” said McGrath-Martinez, who runs Latino Outdoors Colorado. “It’s usually not women, it’s usually not people of color.”
The group gives members of the Latino community a chance to experience the great activities Colorado has to offer like snowshoeing, hiking and fly fishing.
Earlier this month, the group traveled to Staunton State Park to partner with Colorado Parks and Wildlife for a Fly-Fishing 101 course. Christian Mendez left South Texas for Colorado less than a ‘a year. He discovered Latino Outdoors Colorado while rock climbing and knew he had to get involved.
“I came here hoping to do more ‘outdoors’ and ‘nature’ things and so far, with events like this, I’m achieving that goal,” Mendez said. “I feel more comfortable going out to Colorado and exploring with a group like this that I can have and be a part of.”
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Another participant, Andrea Kurth, felt the same way. It may have been her first fly fishing, but she had been involved in Latino Outdoors for a long time, so she knew how much it meant to many in the group.
“A lot of times the Latino community can face obstacles when trying to access the outdoors,” Kurth said. “I think for a lot of people, information is a huge barrier.”
For McGrath-Martinez, running Latino Outdoors Colorado is about more than just getting people into nature. It’s about community and proving that nature doesn’t have to be prejudiced.
“We just have a skewed version of what it means to be outdoors and so that’s a big part of Latino Outdoors and there are a lot of organizations working, groups working to change that,” McGrath explained- Martinez.
“I’m emotional to talk about it because it’s something really special and unique, it’s so great to give back to the community to see the joy because I know they’re going to remember it.”
Latino Outdoors Colorado doesn’t have any upcoming events, but they encourage people to follow their social media pages to find out when they have something planned.
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