Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center
Hispanic Heritage Studies Pilot Partnership
You never know where a past connection will lead you. Many years ago, Kiersten Gibizov worked with Monica Olivera at the Fort Worth Zoo. Now part of the Dogwood Canyon team, Kiersten wanted to add Spanish language education programs to engage the diverse communities more intimately in and around Cedar Hill. Kiersten remembered her former colleague and reached out to Monica, who now owns and operates Hispanic Heritage Studies, to discuss ideas for engaging the Hispanic community.
Hispanic Heritage Studies offers the opportunity for people to learn about the contributions of Hispanic people and culture throughout history. Monica Olivera is a Spanish-Mexican American born and raised in Texas. She creates resources to help schoolteachers and home schoolers learn about the beauty of Hispanic culture and the role of Hispanics in U.S. and World History. Monica’s work has been published on sites such as PBS Parents, NBC Latino, Woo! Jr., and many others. Monica has graciously developed a pilot curriculum with a conservation focus for Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center.
This partnership has resulted in two amazing lesson plans that can be taught in both English and Spanish, celebrating Hispanic cultural influences in conservation. Lesson One highlights the conservation efforts and artwork of Louis Agassiz Fuertes who sketched birds, much like John James Audubon, to bring awareness to the beauty around us. Lesson Two demonstrates how Hispanic cultures utilized rainwater to grow native plants to feed themselves and the environment. This program launched on July 20, 2024 at Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center with a focus on Louis Agassiz Fuertes. The free presentation was offered in English and Spanish with the help of Sofia Lopez, an Educator at Trinity River Audubon Center.
Mitchell Lake Audubon Center
x Latino Outdoors = Let’s Go Birding Together!
Mitchell Lake Audubon Center in San Antonio hosted its third annual Let’s Go Birding Together Beginner Bird Hike in honor of Pride Month in June. This was the first year including Latino Outdoors as an official event partner.
The partnership between Latino Outdoors and Mitchell Lake Audubon Center started a decade ago, when Josie Gutierrez (a 2024 Texas Women in Conservation Awardee) led the first ever walk in San Antonio for Latino Outdoors at Mitchell Lake. Since then, the partnership has blossomed.
Over the last year, Latino Outdoors and Mitchell Lake Audubon Center have co-led six events, including nature walks at Confluence Park and Medina River Natural Area, the first annual Wellness Weekend, a Latino Conservation Week volunteer event, and most recently, the annual Let’s Go Birding Together Pride Hike.
More than 30 people gathered at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center early on a Saturday morning, bringing together the LGBTQIA++ and Latinx Communities to celebrate Pride Month and birds! Pride-themed donuts, bird-friendly coffee, and tacos got everyone smiling as people arrived and chatted over breakfast.
During the walk, the group observed 31 species, including hearing a Northern Bobwhite Quail in the grassland restoration area, a Crested Caracara, and a colorful Painted Bunting singing at the top of a tree. Paul Llamas, a recent graduate student, joined the walk and highlighted the partnership with Texas A&M University-San Antonio, discussing their research findings for Painted Buntings – this year’s Let’s Go Birding Together pride-themed species.
After the walk, Latino Outdoors and Mitchell Lake Audubon Center hosted a raffle for participants, including Pride hats and water bottles donated by Latino Outdoors and REI, along with Audubon’s Let's Go Birding Together coffee mugs.
Despite the heat of June, it was an exciting and invigorating opportunity to ensure everyone had the opportunity to feel safe and enjoy birds in the outdoors.
Trinity River Audubon Center
Partnership with Notre Dame School
Who would have thought that our Scissortails & Cocktails event two years ago would turn into such a wonderful partnership? Mere Pace, owner of Happy Flour Baking in Dallas, provides the gift cookies for the event and she employees an extraordinary group of students from the Notre Dame School of Dallas in her kitchen. The school serves students with developmental disabilities ages 6 through 22.
Senior students at Notre Dame concentrate on developing independent living skills, job skills, and exploring career opportunities. Each semester, Notre Dame students participate in off-campus internships, where they work at one job site during the first half of the day. Through these experiences, students gain insights into diverse career opportunities and develop essential job skills.
Trinity River Audubon Center and the Notre Dame School partner together so students can learn about conservation opportunities in their community. Through the school’s internship program, a group of Notre Dame seniors assists Audubon staff with projects every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the school year. Students learn about the natural environment while enjoying the outdoors.
We are happy to share that we have completed two school years together! |
|
|
|
|
