By Cindy “Renee” Provencio, Independent Community Organizer
My connection to public lands was fostered as a young child because of my maternal grandparents. They were the first to introduce me to recreating in public lands. They did for me what my struggling, single mom could not do on her own. My grandparents took us for day trips to the Gila River, fishing and camping all over New Mexico and beyond. It was because of them that some of my earliest memories are in public lands. My connection to public lands runs deep because of my grandparents. However, I know for many children and people in our community there is no one in their life to help them overcome the financial barriers to accessing public lands.
My life experiences of being raised in the Mining District of Grant County, New Mexico informs my advocacy and community organizing in the realm of conservation. I understand how socioeconomic barriers impede access to public lands. Not only do many families experience financial barriers to accessing public lands, it can also be intimidating to get out if you have never been to a place before. Conservation organizations can and should help underserved communities overcome barriers and foster connections to public lands; Community field trips and hikes are great ways to do just that when paired with free food, carpooling, and gas stipends.
Many conservation organizations want to reach underserved communities and wonder why those folks don’t ever sign up for their field trips or hikes. My past experience as the Nuestro Gila Community Organizer and CDT Ambassador taught me a formula for organizing Community Field Trips and Hikes with diverse participants. What I learned is that contracting or hiring a person from that community to lead outings goes a long way. Secondly, offering free food and snacks on the outing not only draws people but also eliminates a financial barrier to participation. My go to food offering is burritos from my favorite, local restaurant. Lastly, offering opportunities to carpool and offering gas stipends help families overcome financial barriers to accessing public lands.
This formula proved successful once again for the New Mexico Wild Community Field Trip to Pony Hills in the Cooke’s Range which I organized and co-lead with Luke Koenig, Gila Grassroots Organizer. It was one of those perfect desert winter days – brilliant blue skies stretching endlessly above us as we made the hour-and-a-half drive. The hike itself was accessible to everyone – less than a mile roundtrip through classic Chihuahuan Desert landscape dotted with creosote bushes, mesquite, and prickly pear cacti, with Cooke’s Peak rising dramatically in the background.
We had 15 diverse participants of all ages and abilities, with children’s laughter floating through the desert air as they explored the terrain. The participants were majority Mining District Residents which was our target audience. My recruitment strategy was to flyer only in the Mining District and to post only in Mining District Facebook Groups to recruit participants. I also reached out directly to Mining District families in my circle. Watching everyone’s good spirits and the simple, transformative effect that being outside in public lands had on people made the day particularly special. The Community Field Trip was a great success and it was an honor to have the opportunity to connect members of my community to our public lands!
It is important for conservation organizations to do effective outreach to underserved communities. We can think of this outreach as planting seeds; one day the seeds we plant might grow into public land advocates. My grandparents are not conservationists by any means, they had no agenda in taking me out to our public lands. They simply planted a seed by providing me with opportunities to connect in meaningful ways to our public lands. My passion for advocacy and community organizing around access to public lands is owed to them.
