Blazing trails for community conservation

There’s a simple, but powerful way for land trusts to get closer to the people they serve: Ask them to take a walk with you. “It’s amazing — when you walk with someone, you get to know each other in a different way,” says Sarah Noss, executive director of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust. “There’s a big push around community conservation and this has broadened our constituency and opened more funding opportunities.”

What’s made such foot-powered positivity possible has been a free urban walking program known as Vámonos (“let’s go” in Spanish). SFCT staff and volunteers lead 23 scheduled walks from May to October, mainly on trails near Santa Fe parks certified by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 2- to 3- mile walks, which last about one hour, are held weekdays at 5:30 or 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. Typically, 10-20 walkers turn out for each session, with 393 total participants in 2021.

The city’s well-regarded trail network spans 75 miles and SFCT has long been involved with its development. There’s even a 35-mile loop named for Dale Bale, SFCT’s first executive director. “Some people find it interesting that we have a strong trails program,” Noss says. “They say, ‘Are you a land trust or a trails program?’ We’re both.”

SFCT also convenes the Santa Fe Walking Collaborative, whose members support Vámonos events. They include the City of Santa Fe Parks and Recreation Department, New Mexico Department of Health, City of Santa Fe Senior Services Division and La Familia Medical Center.

While trails on land trust preserves may evoke images of serious birder types and lug-soled power walkers, that’s not the Vámonos way.

“Dirt trails are great if you’re fit and live near one,” Noss says. “But there are people who don’t like to walk alone because they’re afraid … or don’t even know the trails exist.”

Vámonos hikers are a varied lot in terms of age, ability and socioeconomic background. You’ll see elderly hikers bused in from nearby retirement homes. You’ll see “bigs” hiking with their “littles” as part of a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor outing. During hikes in southwest Santa Fe, you’ll see a higher number of Spanish-speaking families.

On Saturday mornings, more kids and adults come out for nature scavenger hikes. They’ll slow down long enough to sniff the caramel scent of Ponderosa pine bark and learn the difference between a piñon pine and a juniper. To the fascination of some — and horror of others — they might even find their first desert tarantula.

SFCT’s outreach reflects a growing trend that surfaced in the 2020 Census: 76% of land trusts have increased community engagement since 2015. Likewise, 78% are engaging groups historically underrepresented in conservation, including people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, older adults, veterans or active-duty military, people living with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals.

“It’s meaningful to take an older person into nature if only to walk 20 feet and sit on a bench,” Noss says. “One example is a man with an inner-ear problem who needs us to hold his arm when he walks. He wouldn’t be out here except for Vámonos.”

For all the good that Vámonos does for residents, it’s also been good for SFCT. While it costs around $7,000 in staff time to run the program, SFCT has leveraged $25,000 to $30,000 per year in related funding. Recently, its track record with urban trails helped SFCT to land a federal grant through the Safe Routes to School program. Similar to Vámonos, it will encourage more children to bike and walk to school.

Vámonos walkers have also started to attend other SFCT events, which doesn’t surprise Noss. She says that “fun experiences where people just hang out with us” builds connections in ways that simply touting how many acres they’ve protected cannot.

“This isn’t ‘mission drift’ for us,” Noss says. “It’s about finding where the unmet needs of people and nature intersect. The chances of us surviving long term are challenging unless we engage more deeply with the community.”