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PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE: AZ Group Studies Heritage for Latino Conservation Week
21 July 2016

PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE: AZ Group Studies Heritage for Latino Conservation Week



Category: News Coverage

This week marks the third annual Latino Conservation Week, and organizers are shining a spotlight on the Latino community's concern for preserving Arizona's natural resources. As part of the week-long push, several groups are encouraging Latinos to go camping, hiking and engage in other outdoor activities. 

Rebecca Renteria with the Linking Hispanic Heritage Through Archaeology Program, said her group is welcoming back former students with a day at Mission Garden, Tucson's living museum.

"We are trying to get all the members of Linking Hispanic Heritage Through Archaeology all together again,” she said, "in addition to reaching out to high school students who would want to participate in the program next year. "

According to Renteria, the program connects Hispanic youth to their cultural history using regional archaeology, and offers students and teachers hands-on, behind-the-scenes archaeological experiences in the field. Other Arizona groups have planned activities such as a scavenger hunt at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and a kayak outing and clean-up on the Lower Salt River.

With more than 50 million people, the Latino community is the largest minority group in the U.S. and currently, more than two million Latinos live in Arizona. With so many Latinos in the state, Maite Arce with the Hispanic Access Foundation believes they can help play a major role in conservation efforts.

"By Latino voters, there is concern about making sure our natural resources are preserved long into the future," she added. "So, really thinking about tomorrow and protecting those lands from development and other threats."

Over the past three years, Latino Conservation Week has grown from 17 events in just a handful of states to more than 100 events across the country.

To learn more about Latino Conservation Week, visit latinoconservationweek.com.