For Latino Conservation Week, I got the chance to work closely with urban youth from the Eagle Eye Institute of the greater Holyoke and The Boys & Girls club. The group learned how to make the most out of an outdoors experience by bird watching, identifying trees, and even doing pond explorations. The youth learned basic techniques for identifying birds during a hike at the Fort River division and they worked hands-on with our avian aerial insectivore initiative, where they assembled birdhouses for tree swallows, bank swallows and others.

After spending time with the Boys & Girls Club, I got to know each member and discovered what their interests and hobbies were. Many of the youth shared that ever since they joined the club, they’ve learned to appreciate the beauty and wonders of Silvio O. Conte with every visit. “Growing up I didn’t realize we had places like this so close to mi casa” said Kikito, a Boys & Girls Club participant. Most of their hobbies involved staying home playing video games or practicing sports. Now that they’ve learned how important and valuable conservation work can be, I can say that many if not all, will carry out conservationism with pride. At the end, seeing how the youth enjoyed their outdoor experience was very rewarding to me!