We Need To Get Our Communities More Exposed to the Outdoors

By Ylenia Aguilar, board member of the Osborn School District in Central Phoenix.

Being outdoors, being in nature, seeing its raw beauty means the world to me. It has been my saving grace when all seems dark and dim.

I was born in Veracruz, Mexico, and grew up in Mexico City and Tucson, Arizona. I was an undocumented U.S. immigrant when I was younger and while growing up I attended more than 20 schools. But the outdoors was always my haven and refuge.

My dad was from a little town outside of Mexico City, a little pueblito in the tropical rain forest. We could go outside and pick coffee beans and mangos. I lived with him from nine to 12 years old and during these formative years, I lived and learned the soothing aspects of being grounded to Mother Earth.

It was something I came to study as I entered my college years so I know the importance of children being exposed to gardens and how the outdoors environment correlates to mental health. It remains my balance. When I struggle with mental health issues and I feel out of balance, I turn to the outdoors, whether I’m hiking, riding my bike or camping I just always feel better when I am outside. I have tried hard to instill and encourage these same values in my own family.

I know I am lucky to have gotten this kind of exposure and these kinds of experiences when I was young. I feel that for far too many Latinos, especially those in the cities, this is something that has gotten lost. Our connection to the earth is in our DNA. It runs deep within our veins. It is a part of us. So to see this being lost is difficult and it is something I hope to address as a member of HECHO’s Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council. HECHO is doing such great work giving Latinos a voice and getting people more involved.

A part of that is the desire to acclimate to the American lifestyle, which too often also does not include embracing the outdoors living and recreating.

I knew where my food came from. But living in the Phoenix, the country’s fifth largest city, a lot of our communities are living in poverty. They don’t usually get out into the outdoors. They never save their money and go camp or go to Yellowstone. Our community isn’t programmed that way.

We already come with a background of conservation because that’s who we are. But now we have to relearn those behaviors and implement them. If we don’t recycle and take care of our space, if we don’t take care of our planet, we’ll not have it. It really starts with exposure. We need to get our communities more exposed to growing up camping, hiking and having a more active lifestyle, instead of a sedentary lifestyle. In our countries or origin, we’re very active. But now our communities are struggling with obesity. We need to get back to those ways of our past.

When any human being is exposed to our nature, visiting the Grand Canyon or hiking along a beautiful river, they’re able to appreciate and understand that these are not infinite resources. If we don’t protect our water, it’s going to run out. We need to stop polluting and begin to recycle more and do everything we can to protect our outdoor spaces.