Bilingual Outreach and Activities Connect Latino Families to Cortez Outdoor Programs

Cortez’s Latino community—nearly 20% of the city’s population—has long faced barriers to participating in local outdoor programs, including language differences, transportation challenges, and a lack of culturally relevant programming. After recognizing this gap, one member of the Montezuma Inspire Coalition came up with a solution: bilingual activities and outreach. LOR’s funding helped the Montezuma Inspire Coalition contract a bilingual promotora to build relationships with Latino community members, host listening sessions, and work alongside local partners to design and guide outdoor experiences such as hiking, paddleboarding, fishing, snowshoeing, and biking. LOR’s funding also helped the Montezuma Inspire Coalition purchase portable translation equipment, program materials in English and Spanish, and cover transportation, childcare, and food costs, with participants drawing from the coalition’s existing gear lending library at no cost. Together, these efforts will strengthen the relationships between Cortez’s Spanish-speaking community and local outdoor organizations, helping Latino youth and families find a lasting place in the region’s outdoor programs.

This project is fiscally sponsored by Montezuma Land Conservancy.