Latino Environmental Groups. Part 2

on the playground at twenty four students ten year old anthony hernandez needles next to a slender man going to a selective frustrated people come where parents help their foresight of fire burn and as eagerly points out strawberry plants diesel lettuce and ladybugs and use and butterflies days trying to get her phone has changed a year ago students teachers and parents and this some west adams section of la a big hole in the school's asphalt and planted this and negotiated guard and it was the brainchild of emily green a garden writer who lives near the school to make it happen she turned to what donald ortega is active in promenade environmental groups including the national audubon society was a project he couldn't refuse i attended muddy an elementary school in east la where we had nothing but what did made plenty of reasons nice and very difficult to recreate in a facility like this also schools like this like the school i went to right next to freeways and so air

quality has been an issue and i'm asthmatic ortega says if the trust for public land and the school district can come up with the money in twenty four straight school will eventually start another garden a teaching kitchen and new trees to block out some of the noise and pollution from the ten freeway ortega says this kind of environmental issue resonates with latinos we wanted to really do a hard and it reduces your apartment you can actually play whereas in the traditional in this case means wildlife habitat it's not the same in value those things that as latinos become more vocal about their ideas their crossing swords with members of traditional environmental groups there's been a lot of tension over new parks near the la river latino has rallied to block a development on the land that is now los angeles state historic park some felt betrayed when the state declined to build soccer fields on the site ultimately park officials added fields to another park real de los angeles state park or taylor

yard as it's known activist mr munoz says some white environmentalist only one habitat and hiking trails along the river i've been in meetings ct held meetings where people have gotten up and said we do not what soccer fields we do not want accurate active repression that irritate your yard line of them it's because they don't have anymore old line environmental groups in la have hired more like the nose in recent years but their membership remains largely white audubon society board member and undertaker a lot of what happens with the conventional sector won't ever want to lose that we'd become very concerned with convincing people that write rather than engaging them and improving the quality of life we've got to change the way they're doing business better change the way they get input on what their parents are going to be your mum munoz before they had the luxury of making those appear those decisions for everyone people are now allowed that to happen more to help latinos set their own environmental agenda as munoz founded new has della piana women of the

earth she helps like you know start a tunnel has chapters to work on family oriented environmental issues within the family unit and address the critical issues of children then you can improve the neighborhood and eventually the community all rockets improved so far there are seven you had as chapters in the la area including el monte pasadena and elsa reno merino says some traditional environmental groups are helping her organization and latino community groups are finding formidable allies in the state's latino elected officials roger rivero of the national hispanic environmental council i think the green groups are waking up to the fact that in order to pass environmental legislation in california it's going to require a real substantive partnership with the latino community rivera says from park and water bonds to the state's landmark greenhouse gas bill latino voters and politicians are shaping the future of california's environment in west adams phil society owe eighty nine point three