With 64 state parks, 9 state recreation areas, and 25 state trails the Minnesota State Park and Trail system can seem overwhelming and confusing for even lifelong residents, but what if you were from a different country and spoke a different language? These are the barriers Luisana Méndez heard from her community while exploring state parks in Minnesota.
In 2018, Luisana escaped a dictatorship in her Venezuela, moving to the United States without friends or family. She decided to move to Minnesota to experience our state’s beautiful natural places and sense of community, excited to embrace everything Minnesota had to offer. During the pandemic, Luisana found exploring the outdoors as a way to get outside and ease anxious feelings, going on walks in our state parks. She wanted to learn everything she could about the state parks system, discovering her love for hiking and exploring the great outdoors.
Her curiosity led her to join the hiking club and passport club, determined to visit every state park in Minnesota. She shared her adventures on social media, receiving inquisitive responses from her community, who wondered how she was able to navigate the trails or understand the different state parks. She also heard many concerns from the Latinx community, who also moved to Minnesota from different countries. As native Spanish-speakers, they expressed challenges in understanding signs or programs delivered in English. Luisana wholeheartedly understood these worries and wanted to help her community, inviting them to walk with her.
This was the first step in creating Huellas Latinas, an organization that works to inspire and empower Latino communities to experience Minnesota’s parks and trails by organizing group outdoor trips across the state. Huellas Latinas now hosts a variety of activities open to all, including Hikes & Walks con Familias Latinas, which offers a safe and culturally appropriate space to teach them to explore new places and feel comfortable and secure when engaging in outdoor activities.
Since 2021, Huellas Latinas has hosted 314 activities across the state ranging from walks, hikes, camping trips, climbing, canoeing, birding, yoga, fishing, forest bathing, and more for 1371 families and 2500 people in the community. While impressive, Luisana isn’t focused on the numbers. Her mission is to build authentic connections, offering her community a welcoming space to experience the outdoors built on trust and support. As the director of Huellas Latinas, Luisana strives to listen empathetically to her community, understanding their needs and what they hope to explore in Minnesota’s natural places.
As for creating a more inclusive experience in Minnesota’s state parks and trails, Huellas Latinas envisions many ways to make these spaces more welcoming to all, including bilingual and inclusive signage, collaboration with community organizations in planning and execution, cultural training for park staff, programs created with Latino communities in mind, and spaces that celebrate culture.
To learn more and support Huellas Latinas, visit their website or follow them on social media.