We Explore Earth organizes about a dozen events each month.
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Courtesy We Explore Earth
)
Topline:
The full moon, yoga and hiking: nonprofit We Explore Earth hosts regular events to bring people together outdoors, both those who grew up hiking and those who didn’t. The next event is Sunday in Elysian Park.
Why it matters: Some racial and ethnic groups have limited experience with hiking and similar outdoor activities. We Explore Earth is trying to change that.
Why now: Founder William Velazquez says people are hungry to get outside and connect with others, away from screens.
What's next: We Explore Earth hosts about a dozen events each month across Southern California locations from L.A. and Burbank to San Dimas.
It was 2016, and William Vazquez had an epiphany while hiking along a river. He wanted to expose people who didn’t grow up hiking to the outdoors, while nurturing a sense of responsibility to take care of the natural environment.
“I hosted my first hike, and it was only two people that showed up,” he said.
But he kept at it. Last month, 60 people showed up at a yoga session with a violin performance. Most who attend, he said, have rarely hiked or learned about the outdoors, so he and his staff create activities to “help them take their first steps, help them gear up and learn how to explore nature, how to also help build community, how to protect nature.”
We Explore Earth now organizes about a dozen events each month with many volunteers in parks and other locations from L.A. and Compton to San Dimas.
We Explore Earth organizes events to connect people with both nature and other humans of diverse ethnicities and races.
(
Courtesy We Explore Earth
)
The next event is 6 p.m. Sunday at Elysian Park. It coincides with the last full moon of the summer, called the Full Corn Moon. Vazquez says the goal is to reflect, think about fall produce like pumpkins, and connect with the night sky. A telescope will be on hand.
