News Release

National Parks to Celebrate Latino Conservation Week: Commemorate the NPS Centennial and #FindYourPark

NPS Photo

News Release Date: July 13, 2016

Contact: Elizabeth Stern, National Park Service, 202-208-6843

Contact: Robert Fanger, Hispanic Access Foundation, 317-410-7668

Contact: Alanna Sobel, National Park Foundation, 202-796-2538

Comunicado de prensa en español

WASHINGTON – Visit a national park during Latino Conservation Week and camp under the stars, go canoeing, or participate in sunset walks! Many events are happening at national parks across the country from July 16 to July 24 to create opportunities for Latinos to express their passion for the outdoors.

Launched by Hispanic Access Foundation in 2014, the nine-day event is designed to break down barriers to the Latino population's enjoyment of public lands, encourage new opportunities for, and outreach to, this community to use public lands, and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. Now in its third year, the theme for Latino Conservation Week 2016 is "Enjoying and Conserving our Earth."

The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation are joining forces with Hispanic Access Foundation to spotlight events taking place in national parks during the week as part of the centennial celebration of the National Park Service.As part of the #FindYourPark and #EncuentraTuParque movement, the parks' participation in Latino Conservation Week invites everyone –especially the Latino community –to discover their own national park experience.

"We are thrilled to be a part of Latino Conservation Week, and to support efforts by Hispanic Access Foundation and its partners to invite the Latino community to Find Your Park," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis."As we look ahead to our second century, we want everyone to find their own special connections to the incredible places that are our national parks."

Events taking place in national parks during the week include "Share Your Story/Comparte Tu Historia!" at Everglades National Park in south Florida, camping at Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn, N.Y., a guided hike at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in southern California, and an evening bike tour at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, DC.

"Latino Conservation Week fosters the Latino community's passion for the outdoors and helps introduce them to new sites and opportunities to enjoy and protect our national parks," said Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation. "Through collaboration, we can encourage more Latinos to access and enjoy these locations, which is critical to building future stewards and advocates for these treasured spaces. HAF and its diverse partners –including national and community-based groups –appreciate the support of the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation."

"By offering many different ways to experience the National Park System, Latino Conservation Week highlights the essence of the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement," said Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks. "Together with incredible park partners like Hispanic Access Foundation, we are connecting more and more communities across the country to their national parks and National Park Service programs. Whether it's someone's first time visiting a park or a frequent visitor, our goal is to share the idea that parks can be welcoming places to recreate, learn, and explore a passion."

The series of events will also include programs that highlight the work of students in the Latino Heritage Internship Program. The program is a joint effort by the National Park Service, Hispanic Access Foundation and Environment for the Americas to give Latino college students the opportunity to intern in national parks and National Park Service offices.Latino Conservation Week activities supported by interns encourage learning and fun for the whole community.Some of these activities will be held in Boston National Historical Park in Massachusetts, San Juan Island National Historical Park north of Seattle, Washington, Pecos National Historic Park near Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area east of Las Vegas, Nevada.

The organizations will use social media to share Latino Conservation Week events with people around the world, using #FindYourPark, #EncuentraTuParque, #LatinoConservationWeek, and #LCW2016.

More information about activities taking place in national parks during Latino Conservation Week is available online at EncuentraTuParque.com and FindYourPark.com.

Arizona

• Saguaro National Park:Stewardship at Saguaro National Park

California

• Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: Guided Hike at Rocky Oaks Pond Trail

• Sequoia &Kings Canyon National Park: Hike with a Ranger/Collecting Scientific Data on Sequoias

• Redwood National and State Parks:Redwood Park Bioblitz

Colorado

• Great Sand Dunes National Park: Hiking Great Sand Dunes

District of Columbia

• National Mall and Memorial Parks: National Mall Evening Bike Tour

• Rock Creek Park: Picnic, Hike, and Activities

Florida

• Biscayne National Park: Community Day on July 16, Community Day on July 23, Diving with a Purpose, Boating Education Class

• Everglades National Park: Share Your Story/Comparte Tu Historia!

• Timucuan Ecological &Historic Preserve: Dare To Explore

Maryland

• Chesapeake &Ohio Canal National Historical Park: Hike &Picnic

Massachusetts

• Lowell National Historical Park: Latino Recipe Exchange
• Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation: Latino History
• Boston National Historical Park: Walking Tour of the Charlestown Navy Yard

Nevada

• Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Invasive Tamarisk Removal

New Mexico

• Pecos National Historical Park: Nature Trail Scavenger Hunt

New York

• Gateway National Recreation Area -- Floyd Bennett Field: Camping Under the Brooklyn Sky

Pennsylvania

• Independence National Historical Park: Pop-Up Art Show

Texas

• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park: Mission San Jose Artifact Interpretation

Washington

• San Juan Island National Historical Park: Sunset Hike to Young Hill

Wyoming

• Grand Teton National Park: Untold Stories, and Pura Vida Paddling

About the National Park Service

More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 412 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.

About Hispanic Access Foundation

Hispanic Access Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that improves the lives of Hispanics in the United States and promotes civic engagement by educating, motivating and helping them access trustworthy support systems. For more information, visit www.hispanicaccess.org, Twitter twitter.com/HispanicAccess, and Facebook facebook.com/HispanicAccessFoundation.

About The National Park Foundation

The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards.In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service's 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America's National Parks, a $350 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years.Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.