The Wyoming Latina Youth Center is launching its Community Engagement, Outreach, and Service Learning program that connects college leaders and mentors with Wyoming K-12 students and family members with a focus on environmental, conservation and climate justice themes. This project is an outgrowth from our annual conference that supports 5th-12th grade students of Latinx, Hispanic, Indigenous, Afro-Latinx, and mixed-blooded female-identifying youth throughout the state of Wyoming. For the last 22 years, the Wyoming Latina Youth Conference has brought together formal and informal educators; community leaders; college student mentors; and 5th-12th grade students from around Wyoming. Our 22nd annual conference in 2022 brought a record number of 325 girls from grades 5th-12th, representing 24 Wyoming school districts for workshops and activities focused on STEAM and environmental education. As a result of the success of our annual conference, many of our Wyoming community members have requested that we bring our college student leaders into their communities throughout the year to build a broader network of community involvement.
The Latino/a/e community is the single fastest growing population in the state of Wyoming, and as such, we are well positioned to link our student mentors and their interests with community members. Environmental, conservation and climate justice issues are at the forefront of Wyoming's future. Environmental tourism is the second largest contributor to Wyoming's economy and climate change and water issues are integral to the industry. We propose to engage with Wyoming Latino/a/e community members through public outreach events connecting families and students with university and community members on a variety of topics such as conservation issues, climate change, drought, access to outdoor recreation, and the benefits of spending time outdoors through hands-on active learning workshops. Our goal is to work with Latino/a/e community members to engender trust and empower their voices to engage in their communities on environmental and sustainability issues that are key in Wyoming, such as conservation, water security, and outdoor recreation tourism.
