“Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together”
Since its inception, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) mission to protect, sustain, and improve our environment has been a cause that unites all cultures and heritages. Environmental awareness and stewardship play an integral role in many of our cultures, and the pursuit of ensuring a clean, healthy environment now and into the future remains a fundamental goal of our agency on a professional and personal level.
From September 15 to October 15 each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage month. The national observation began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to include the 30-day period from September 15 to October 15 of each year. The annual observation was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.
The National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers announced that the 2024 national theme for Hispanic Heritage Month is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.” This theme encapsulates the spirit of innovation, resilience, and unity that defines the diverse experiences of the many Hispanic, Latino, Latinx/e Americans whose heritage is rooted in Latin American countries and territories and recognizes the achievements of those who stand as trailblazers in their respective fields and paving the way for future generations.
DEC partners with several organizations pioneering change by engaging Latino communities in the critical work of environmental stewardship, climate action, natural resource protection, food justice, and more.
Long Beach Latino Civic Association
The Long Beach Latino Civic Association (LBLCA) seeks to empower the Latino population of Long Beach, Long Island, to advocate for itself while embracing both the American experience and distinct Latino cultures. This organization promotes environmental justice, cultural awareness, and civic participation while addressing the critical issues of education, public health, environmental conservation, and community development.
LBLCA was awarded more than $270,000 between 2008 and 2021 through the DEC Office of Environmental Justice's Community Impact Grant Program that provides community-based nonprofit organizations with funding for projects that address various environmental and public health concerns that disproportionately affect low-income and minority communities.
In 2018, Long Beach Latino Civic Association received a $100,000 Community Impact Grant from DEC for a new project, B.A.Y.A.R.E.A. (Building Alliances Yielding Awareness Resulting in Environmental Action). The project aims to improve and protect local waterways by educating local residents on the negative effects of plastic floatables, cigarette butts, balloons, and other debris. Through this grant, LBLCA was also able to plant trees to contribute to the restoration of the Bay Area to help replace those stripped from that area after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
In 2021, DEC awarded LBLCA $100,000 for their latest project Suburban Organic Farming in Action (SOFA), which aims to listen, educate and inform people from Environmental Justice communities in Long Beach about the importance of growing and eating organically. One of the objectives of SOFA is to provide residents and families with the knowledge, skills, and supplies to become suburban farmers and grow their own produce at home. Additionally, the SOFA program will reach the greater community by hosting workshops, tabling at the local farmer's market, amplifying on social media, and hosting environmental justice film screenings.
DEC's Office of Environmental Justice thanks LBLCA for their hard work on these engaging and impactful projects.
For more information on OEJ's grant program, visit the DEC's Office of Environmental Justice webpage or send an email to [email protected].
DEC continues to expand our partnerships with groups across the state to connect all communities to outdoor recreation opportunities and our many programs and initiatives. DEC sponsors events throughout the year, including during Hispanic Heritage Month.
An upcoming event of note is a free fishing clinic on Saturday, September 28, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. The event is hosted by the NYSDEC I FISH NY program and provides a free and fun outdoor education experience through fishing. DEC will provide all necessary equipment and instruction and from 1 – 2 p.m., instruction will be provided in both English and Spanish to help promote accessibility and inclusivity to Spanish speakers interested in fishing.
For more information about this event, visit Free Learn To Fish Clinics. To find more events, visit DEC’s “Things To Do” page.
Another example of DEC’s efforts to expand in-language offerings is through the Conservationist For Kids magazine. To encourage the next generation of environmentalist stewards, DEC's nature and environment magazine for kids is distributed to all fourth graders in New York State. Every issue contains information and activities about New York State's environment, and ways to explore outside. Each issue is published in English and Spanish. Check out Conservationist For Kids to learn more.
In addition to DEC's work, there are many organizations around New York State that are actively engaging Latino communities in environmental issues, including:
Latinxs in Sustainability (LiS) is a collective that aims to unite Latinx-identifying professionals and students in the sustainability field. Their work focuses on dismantling structural barriers that have hindered Latinx representation in the environmental movement. LIS has a partnership with The City College of New York to focus on workforce development for sustainability and engineering students looking to be pioneers of change in their career endeavors.
National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC) is the nation’s largest and oldest Hispanic environmental organization working to ensure that Latinos have a voice, and a seat, at the national environmental decision-making table, whether before federal agencies, the White House, Congress, major environmental groups, or elsewhere. In June of this year, NHEC hosted their 14th Environmental STEM Institute for the New Jersey/New York region.
Hispanic Access Foundation and Latino Conservation Week Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra is an initiative of Hispanic Access Foundation. Latino Conservation Week was created to support and encourage the Latino community to get outdoors and participate in activities that protect natural resources. During Latino Conservation Week (September 14-22) Hispanic Access Foundation partners with organizations in New York and across the country to promote events that focus on Latino engagement in the outdoors using their national platform. Visit Latino Conservation Week: A Hispanic Access Foundation Initiative.
DEC remains committed to maintaining a workplace that values the contributions of all employees to our core mission of protecting, preserving, and improving the environment and our natural resources, and where all visitors can enjoy the diverse environment of the outdoor spaces New York has to offer.
Recommended Reading List:
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Álvarez, Lina, and Brendan Coolsaet. 2020. “Decolonizing Environmental Justice Studies: A Latin American Perspective.” Capitalism Nature Socialism 31 (2): 50–69.
Balsari, Satchit, Caleb Dresser, and Jennifer Leaning. 2020. “Climate Change, Migration, and Civil Strife.” Current Environmental Health Reports 7 (4): 404–14.
Baumert, Brittney O., Hongxu Wang, Shar Samy, Sung Kyun Park, Chun Nok Lam, Kathryn Dunn, Brismar Pinto-Pacheco, et al. 2024. “Environmental Pollutant Risk Factors for Worse COVID-19 Related Clinical Outcomes in Predominately Hispanic and Latino Populations.” Environmental Research 252 (July):119072.
Castillo, Federico, Ana M. Mora, Georgia L. Kayser, Jennifer Vanos, Carly Hyland, Audrey R. Yang, and Brenda Eskenazi. 2021. “Environmental Health Threats to Latino Migrant Farmworkers.” Annual Review of Public Health 42 (1): 257–76.
Clark-Ginsberg, Aaron, Linda Sprague Martinez, Carolina Scaramutti, José Rodríguez, Christopher P. Salas-Wright, and Seth J. Schwartz. 2024. “Social Vulnerability Shapes the Experiences of Climate Migrants Displaced by Hurricane Maria.” Climate and Development 16 (1): 25–35.
Dalton, Kathryn R., Magdalena Fandiño-Del-Rio, Lydia M. Louis, Mary A. Garza, Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, and Meghan F. Davis. 2022. “Microbiome Alterations Associated with Phthalate Exposures in a US-Based Sample of Latino Workers.” Environmental Research 214 (November):114126.
Drieling, Rebecca L., Paul D. Sampson, Jennifer E. Krenz, Maria I. Tchong French, Karen L. Jansen, Anne E. Massey, Stephanie A. Farquhar, et al. 2022. “Randomized Trial of a Portable HEPA Air Cleaner Intervention to Reduce Asthma Morbidity among Latino Children in an Agricultural Community.” Environmental Health 21 (1): 1.
Fussell, Elizabeth, Jack DeWaard, and Katherine J. Curtis. 2023. “Environmental Migration as Short‐ or Long‐term Differences from a Trend: A Case Study of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Effects on Out‐migration in the Gulf of Mexico.” International Migration 61 (5): 60–74.
García-López, Gustavo A. 2018. “The Multiple Layers of Environmental Injustice in Contexts of (Un)Natural Disasters: The Case of Puerto Rico Post-Hurricane Maria.” Environmental Justice 11 (3): 101–8.
Hyland, Carly, Alejandra Hernandez, Éric Gaudreau, Jessica Larose, Jean-François Bienvenu, Lisa Meierotto, Rebecca L. Som Castellano, and Cynthia L. Curl. 2024. “Examination of Urinary Pesticide Concentrations, Protective Behaviors, and Risk Perceptions among Latino and Latina Farmworkers in Southwestern Idaho.” International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 255 (January):114275.
Ilango, Sindana D., Kevin Gonzalez, Linda Gallo, Matthew A. Allison, Jianwen Cai, Carmen R. Isasi, Dean H. Hosgood, et al. 2021. “Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Cognitive Function Among Hispanic/Latino Adults in San Diego, California.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 79 (4): 1489–96.
Johnston, Jill E., Khang Chau, Meredith Franklin, and Lara Cushing. 2020. “Environmental Justice Dimensions of Oil and Gas Flaring in South Texas: Disproportionate Exposure among Hispanic Communities.” Environmental Science & Technology 54 (10): 6289–98.
Kinol, Alaina D., and Laura Kuhl. 2023. “The Role of Disasters in Shaping Narratives of Resilience and Transformation in Puerto Rico.” Current Research in Environmental Sustainability 6:100227.
Lane, Morgan, Emaline Laney, Alexis Nkusi, Clary Herrera, Amitha Sampath, Uriel Kitron, Jessica K. Fairley, Cassandra White, and Rebecca Philipsborn. 2023. “Investigating Climate Change-Related Environmental and Structural Determinants of Health: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study with First-Generation Migrants from Latin America to Metro-Atlanta.” The Journal of Climate Change and Health 14 (November):100275.
Lustgarten, Abrahm. 2024. On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America. First edition. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Martinez-Morata, Irene, Benjamin C. Bostick, Otakuye Conroy-Ben, Dustin T. Duncan, Miranda R. Jones, Maya Spaur, Kevin P. Patterson, Seth J. Prins, Ana Navas-Acien, and Anne E. Nigra. 2022. “Nationwide Geospatial Analysis of County Racial and Ethnic Composition and Public Drinking Water Arsenic and Uranium.” Nature Communications 13 (1): 7461.
Matos-Moreno, Amílcar, Alexis R. Santos-Lozada, Neil Mehta, Carlos F. Mendes De Leon, Félice Lê-Scherban, and Amélia A. De Lima Friche. 2022. “Migration Is the Driving Force of Rapid Aging in Puerto Rico: A Research Brief.” Population Research and Policy Review 41 (3): 801–10.
Méndez, Michael, Genevieve Flores-Haro, and Lucas Zucker. 2020. “The (in)Visible Victims of Disaster: Understanding the Vulnerability of Undocumented Latino/a and Indigenous Immigrants.” Geoforum 116 (November):50–62.
Muñoz-Pogossian, Betilde, and Diego Chaves-González. 2021. “Environmental Explanations of Central American Migration: Challenges and Policy Recommendations.” Jack G Gordon Institute for Public Policy, Florida International University.
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Parada, Humberto, Eric T. Hyde, Mary E. Turyk, Victoria Persky, Nicolas López-Gálvez, Linda C. Gallo, Gregory A. Talavera, Andreas Sjodin, and Hector M. González. 2024. “Persistent Organic Pollutants and Cognitive Decline among Middle-Aged or Older Adults in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.” Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 282 (September):116697.
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Rosignoli, Francesca. 2022. Environmental Justice for Climate Refugees. Routledge Studies in Environmental Migration, Displacement and Resettlement. New York London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, Earthscan from Routledge.
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Sprague, Nadav, David Berrigan, and Christine C. Ekenga. 2020. “An Analysis of the Educational and Health-Related Benefits of Nature-Based Environmental Education in Low-Income Black and Hispanic Children.” Health Equity 4 (1): 198–210.
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DEC's website content is available in English, Spanish, and 11 additional languages. At the bottom of every webpage, you can find the translation section. Each language link will bring you to a mirror of DEC's website translated into the selected language.
