Naturaleza Ahora! = Nature Now!

Naturaleza Ahora! is a Straub Outdoors initiative designed to help Latino-identifying* students access the outdoors and learn about natural science. It is one of the most important community-based efforts that Straub Outdoors has undertaken to date.

We began this multi-year/multi-phase project by identifying the needs and priorities of Latino students and their families . . . by asking questions and listening intently. Next, we redesigned our outdoor education to respond to these needs and priorities through innovative, bilingual programming. Kids, caregivers, and classroom teachers are the experts. Their ideas, questions, and concerns play a critical role in this initiative.

Since launching Naturaleza Ahora! in Fall 2017, the number of Latino students participating in Straub Outdoors programs has doubled. Over the next few years, we’ll build our capacity to serve more BIPOC-identifying students in Grades 1-7 through nature-based experiences while supporting high school and college students as they develop academic and workforce readiness skills through Straub Outdoors internships and other leadership opportunities

Our goal is to get kids outdoors.

All kids.

Why a Latinx Engagement Initiative?

Nearly 40% of students in the Salem-Keizer School District self-identify as Hispanic/Latino*. In the Woodburn School District, Latino youth make up more than 80% of the student population. Statistically, Latino families are the second lowest participants in outdoor activities in the United States. This is the result of many factors, including transportation and financial barriers, conceptions about the natural world, and lack of time for outdoor recreation.

Regardless of the reason, it's now common for children—especially those from low socio-economic backgrounds—to have little or no contact with nature (less than 15 minutes a day, compared to more than seven hours of screen time for most elementary-age children). For some kids, the average amount of screen time is 13 hours. Per day.

We believe this is a crisis, which our society - each and every one of us - can’t afford to ignore.

What have we achieved so far?

• We convened a community-based Latino Engagement Team (see below) that helped us plan and conduct a series of qualitative interviews with bilingual educators, Latino students, and their families. The team will continue to serve in an advisory capacity throughout this initiative. 
• We continue to provide Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) training for our staff and board members and prioritize the recruitment of teachers with Spanish conversational fluency. In the future, we will also provide Spanish language training for our education team. 
• We’ve redesigned our existing programs, developed new programs, and continue to measure outcomes and impacts.

Straub Outdoors now provides culturally-responsive bilingual lessons and materials that help close achievement gaps for Latino and English Language Learner (ELL) students while inspiring nature affinity and supporting academic success for all program participants. Most of our materials and a significant amount of our direct instruction are now in both Spanish and English.

For more information about Naturaleza Ahora!, email Info@StraubOutdoors.org.

Straub Outdoors would like to thank the following agencies, foundations, and individuals for their support:

The Naturaleza Ahora! Advisory Team

(See our founding members, below)

Antonio Ramos
Director, Oregon Migrant Education Center

(founding member)

Antonio Ramos De Jesús was born and raised in the dearest of indigenous Purépecha culture of the village of Cuanajo, near Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico.  From a family of traditional artisans, carving in wood was the central craft. Brightly colored paintings of images—including Calla lilies, suns and fruits—applied to furniture, tables, figurines, etc., reflected the characteristics of his community and of the typical art in his State of Michoacán.

He graduated as an elementary teacher in the State of Michoacán, and taught in his home state. He subsequently earned a Bachelor's degree in Education, a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Portland State University, and an Administration License from Willamette University in Oregon.  His work experience includes, but is not limited to: Family Involvement Specialist (FIS), Bilingual Third Grade Teacher, and Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) to the Woodburn School District. He also served as a Program Co-Coordinator, Migrant Summer School Principal and Elementary Assistant Principal for the Salem-Keizer school district in Salem, Oregon.

Antonio Ramos De Jesús is currently the Director of the Migrant Education Service Center (OMESC) at the Willamette Education Service District in Salem, Oregon.

Catalina de Onís
Faculty, Willamette University  

(founding member)

Catalina de Onís is a professor at Willamette University in the Department of Civic Communication and Media. She holds affiliated positions in the Latin American Studies and American Ethnic Studies Programs and the Sustainability Institute. Her research and teaching engages how social movement actors communicate environmental, climate, and energy justice in the United States and Puerto Rico. Catalina is the recipient of a 2017 Green Fund Annual Grant, which seeks to enhance Willamette University’s internal and external sustainability communication, especially regarding issues of environmental privilege and environmental justice. This initiative is called La Chispa de Salem/The Salem Spark.

Sarah Ferguson-Mañon
ESL Teacher, Waldo Middle School 

(founding member)

Sarah Ferguson-Mañon grew up in rural Montana, one mile outside of Yellowstone National Park. From the Beartooth Mountains her love for the outdoors and nature grew. In addition to environmental activism, Sarah enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking and rock climbing. For over twenty years she has been an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher in the Salem-Keizer School District.  Teaching has given Sarah several unique opportunities to work with youth, including piloting the Spanish and Marshallese Literacy Center for students with interrupted formal schooling, organizing the Russian Summer Science Institute, and creating the middle school newcomer program to serve recently arrived immigrant and refugee students.

Beatrice Serrano-Martinez

SBHC Youth Coordinator, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Clinic

(founding and current Chair)

A native Oregonian, Beatrice was born in Portland and raised in various cities within the Willamette Valley. Her parents are of Mexican descent and ensured that she also grew and learned in San Luis San Pedro, Guerrero, Mexico and in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacán, Mexico. Thereby, Beatrice calls both the United States and Mexico home.

Beatrice is a first-generation Oregon State University Alumni with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science in Natural Resources. After graduating, Beatrice felt fortunate to land an internship with the Bureau of Land Management, where she served as a Park Ranger for the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. She also held internship positions as the Visitor Services Specialist with the Oregon Coast Wildlife Refuge Complex under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and as the Seasonal Park Ranger with the U.S. Forest Service in the Umpqua National Forest Diamond Lake Ranger District.

After serving two terms as the Latino Outreach Coordinator for the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Beatrice worked with Boys and Girls Club and is currently a Beyond School Walls Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest. While Beatrice’s love for the outdoors ignited her passion for providing environmental education, programming (such as a bilingual nature walk series), and interpretation services, her cultural heritage is what has kept feeding the goal of sharing her love for nature with her community.

Antonia Decker
DEI Coordinator, Town & Country Markets

(founding member)

Antonia Decker was raised in Salem, Oregon by a family of educators. Since an early age, she was instilled with an eagerness to learn from and connect to her surrounding diverse communities and natural environments. Antonia brought this sense of commitment and service to Seattle, Washington, where she graduated magna cum laude from Seattle University with a BA in Communication Studies and Spanish.

During her undergraduate career, Antonia set up strong ties to organizations working to make change in the greater Seattle area. She spent two years working for an AmeriCorps early education program, preparing preschool children from an under-resourced community for academic success. In addition, with the dual strengths of her Mexican background and Spanish fluency, Antonia became involved with two organizations committed to connecting Seattle’s Latino/a community with educational and employment opportunities, Casa Latina and El Centro de la Raza. She now serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator for Town & Country Markets, Inc. as resides in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Katie Gavares
Equity Program Manager - Intertwine Alliance

(founding member)

Katie Gavares holds a BA in environmental science major from Willamette University. Her passion for the environment stems from her love of playing outdoors. She grew up backpacking, rock climbing and simply enjoying the sunshine.

Throughout high school and college Katie worked in different programs getting youth, mainly young women, into the outdoors. She holds first-hand experience interacting with nature and sees how it can instill confidence and skills that will carry through to all aspects of life. In high school, she enjoyed facilitating outdoor trainings and leading backpacking trips for kids that grew up in metropolitan areas and hadn’t had the chance to experience the outdoors. In college, she has continued to interact with the environment through studying earth science, which has evolved her understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

While at college, Katie was the Leadership Coordinator at the Willamette Outdoor Program where she taught and managed outdoor leaders. She enjoys combining her experience and excitement in the outdoors and her passion for education with others.

*Many students and their families identify with a variety of communities, racial/ethnic groups, and languages. “Latino” is a term used to describe a person from (or whose family is originally from) a Latin country. “Hispanic/Latino” is a term used by the U.S. Census and regional school districts to describe students and families who speak Spanish and who identify with familial heritage in one or more Latin countries.

Join the team!

Straub Outdoors is currently seeking bilingual students, parents, teachers, and community members to help guide our efforts this year so we can serve more Latinx students and families in meaningful and accessible ways. Email Info@StraubOutdoors.org for details.

donate today

To support the Naturaleza Ahora! Initiative, click on the “Donate” button at the top of this page, specify the amount you’d like to contribute, and include “Naturaleza Ahora!” in the notes section for your gift. Thank you for being a part of the solution.