Latino kids learn about Grand Teton National Park

JACKSON, Wyo. — Twelve-year old Daniel Guevara had never been to Grand Teton National Park. The Jackson seventh-grader didn’t know what he’d find there, he said, didn’t know where to go.
But after participating in the park’s Pura Vida program this summer, Daniel is practically an expert.
Twelve-year old Daniel Guevara had never been to Grand Teton National Park. The Jackson seventh-grader didn’t know what he’d find there, he said, didn’t know where to go.
But after participating in the park’s Pura Vida program this summer, Daniel is practically an expert.
One of a dozen kids in the five-day program, he went canoeing and camping, learned about wolf research and saw firsthand what park employees do.
In its third season, Pura Vida links Latino children and their families to the park’s attractions, said Vanessa Torres, Grand Teton’s youth and diversity outreach coordinator.
Pura Vida is offered once during spring break and twice in the summer — once for middle schoolers and once for high school students.
The program was designed by Teton Science Schools and Grand Teton National Park. In 2009, park officials met to talk about getting Latinos involved in the park. Visitors have been mostly white and middle-aged, Torres said.
“By 2020, the minority is going to be the majority,” she said.
“The demographics in America are changing, yet our visitors are not.”
Park officials also learned about barriers preventing Latino families from visiting, Torres said. Some Latino families didn’t know about Grand Teton’s recreational opportunities. Others thought there was an immigration office in the park or were hesitant to show their identification, she said.
“Our uniforms resemble border patrol uniforms,” she said.
By exposing children to park resources, officials hope they will bring their families back to enjoy them, she said.
“We need to engage this new population to remain relevant and to have places like national parks exist,” Torres said.
Pura Vida has given 13-yearold Jamie Vargas a feel for the park and how important it is, she said.
“My dad won’t go camping because he’s scared of bears,” Jamie said. “Since we know how the place is now, it gives us a chance to tell our parents about it. ... I’m planning on bringing my family here.”
Each student in the free program, sponsored by the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, receives a park pass.
“It’s our park too, as well as everyone else’s,” Jamie said.
Irais Quiroz, 12, said she wants to bring her family to String Lake for picnics.
“It’s really pretty out here,” she said. “I just didn’t know about it.”
One day, the kids learned about jobs in the park.
They toured an ambulance and talked to ranger Jim Dahlstrom. They sat in the back of Dahlstrom’s vehicle and played with the car’s microphone.
“Let’s roll, guys,” one camper said over the loudspeaker.
The kids asked Dahlstrom about his scariest time as a ranger. He told them about the time a guy in a campground at another park was threatening people with a machete.
“We almost had to shoot him,” he said. “Most people who visit ... are pretty good.”
Yair Sanchez, 15, was a mentor for the Pura Vida program.
He has attended the program since it started in 2010, he said.
“I started just like them,” he said, motioning to the campers. “I thought it was a really fun experience. Once I started knowing it better, I started doing more.”
He recruited several of his younger cousins for Pura Vida this year, he said.
“We are really fortunate to actually have it in our backyard,” Yair said about the park. “We should take advantage of what we have. Not everybody has it.”
Students also toured the new Grand Teton National Park headquarters to see the behind-the-scenes jobs.
“Every department here is really important and makes this place run,” Torres told the campers. “We have so many different jobs people don’t know about.”
A grizzly sighting closed Moose-Wilson Road, so campers went to the Taggart Lake trailhead for lunch. There they snacked on homemade chicharonnes and fried pasta Yair’s grandmother made. They giggled and chatted in Spanish between bites. Then they learned about wolf telemetry from wildlife biologist John Stephenson.
“That’s the way we study these guys,” Stephenson said.
They tried on the collars used to track wolves and got to listen to the canines via an antenna and radio.
Pura Vida is “by far my favorite program I’ve worked this summer,” Teton Science Schools educator Rachel Shaffer said. “These kids are great. They’re so excited to be here.”
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Information from: Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com