Partners for Open Space is launching a social media campaign to generate statewide support for Maryland’s parks, nature, outdoor spaces, as well as its rural and historic heritage, all with a strong nod toward Maryland’s Program Open Space.
The Es Mi Parque program posts Spanish-speaking Rangers at some of the most utilized public parks and also hosts educational programming and outreach activities.
Maryland State Parks has created their Es Mi Parque program to better connect a large and growing number of Latino visitors to the cultural, recreational and historic resources of Maryland. In partnership, Preservation Maryland will produce a series of brief park histories in English and Spanish, including Catoctin Furnace at Cunningham Falls State Park and the following history of Patapsco Valley State Park.
Es Mi Parque event at Sandy Point State Park, 2017.
Did you know? Visitors of Hispanic descent are one of the fastest-growing and biggest user groups to Maryland’s state parks. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and other agencies like the Chesapeake Conservancy are creating new connections between Maryland’s Latinx communities and the state’s historic and natural resources.
Free Resource: Preservation Maryland is pleased to provide access to the presentations given at the Old Line State Summit.
This session will discuss methods and strategies for how to engage Latinx audiences by building meaningful and trusting relationships in communities. Participants will learn how to find common ground with Latinx communities to collaborate on mutually beneficial project goals. We will discuss Latinx usership of Maryland State Park system which led to the creation of the “Es Mi Parque” program, as well as case studies from a Latinx community engagement program in South Baltimore. Using the Community Outreach and Engagement Toolkit, we will look at the way forward. We will cover some of the most important steps you can take to strengthen your relationship with the Latinx community beyond translating materials.
Gabrielle RoffeGabrielle Roffe is a Project and Partnership Coordinator at the Chesapeake Conservancy. She has an MS in Environmental Science from Towson University. Gabrielle has experience engaging Latinx communities with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through building urban partnerships and community engagement programs in Kansas City, Denver, and Baltimore.
Camilla SandovalCamilla Sandoval is a recent graduate of UMBC’s Historical Studies program where she wrote her master’s thesis on the representation of Latinxs in the National Register of Historic Places. In the summer of 2018, she created the Community Outreach and Engagement Toolkit focusing on building relationships with the Latinx community.
Michelle RamirezMichelle Ramirez is the Multicultural Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources. She has a BS focused in Environmental Science and Policy-Wildlife Ecology and Management from University of Maryland College Park. Michelle is experienced in environmental education, Spanish translation, wildlife conservation, community outreach, and volunteer management. Michelle runs the Es Mi Parque program for the Maryland State Parks.
Lindsey Baker leads the Patapsco Heritage Greenway, a Maryland state heritage area, that spans parts of Baltimore and Howard Counties including Patapsco State Park and Ellicott City. Previously, Lindsey was Director of the Laurel Historical Society. Lindsey will serve as moderator of this session.