COLORADO—More than 100 people gathered in early December on Fourmile Road in the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District of the White River National Forest to harvest Christmas trees, eat tamales and take photos with Smokey Bear at the Third Annual Bilingual Posada and Christmas Tree Cutting Event.

Participant Vicky Rodas attended for the first time this year with her family, including her 10-year-old son. She said of the event, “Thank you very much for the program. That was the first year that we participated. My son was really excited, and I never thought it would be a story. … It was such an honor.” 

This annual event is just one of many the forest holds to introduce families to the activities available on national forests, working with partners like Defiende Nuestra Tierra to engage the region’s Spanish-speaking community. Together they have found success with family-oriented community events such as the posada, a Spanish word meaning “inn” or “dwelling,” referring to the Christmas nativity story. This holiday tradition is celebrated in Mexico as well as some parts of Central America and the United States between Dec. 16 and 24. To celebrate, friends, family members and the community come together before Christmas to sing carols.

“We try to cut down barriers to public land use,” said Omar Sarabia, director of co-hosting organization Defiende Nuestra Tierra, a group that uses bilingual Spanish and English programming to focus on public land use and conservation.

One way to do this is by incorporating an already existing event, such as a traditional holiday celebration. It helps attract new perspectives and communities to public lands—bringing together different traditions to create a new celebration. In this case, that’s accomplished by bringing the posada to the forest and combining it with educating families about how to select and cut down their very own trees.

“We want to make the forest a welcoming and inclusive environment,” said Kevin Warner, district ranger for the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District. “Native Spanish speakers comprise nearly 40% of the population in communities near the White River National Forest, but we don’t yet see that reflected in the people who visit the forest.”

During the event, Forest Service personnel provided tools and bilingual information about selecting and cutting a tree and safely caring for it at home, then helped families load harvested trees for transport. In addition to posing for photos, Smokey Bear shared fire prevention materials in Spanish and English.