Post by Sharon Faulkner on Oct 2, 2006 20:33:41 GMT -5
National park reaches out
By Doug Waters dwaters@bgdailynews.com
October 2, 2006
Mammoth Cave National Park extended a deep invitation to the Hispanic community Saturday, as a group of nearly 20 got a free two-hour tour conducted in their native tongue. “This is the first time we've tried this,” said Leslie Price, the tour guide who organized Saturday's trek in conjunction with the National Park Service's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Price said Laurie Smith, a seasonal guide who doubles as a Spanish teacher at Todd County High School, gave Saturday's tour.
Saturday's tour included early stories that led to the park's formation and the uniqueness of the world's longest cave system. It was much more detailed than a typical tour given to first-time park visitors, she said. “The folks were just full of comments about how much they enjoyed it,” Price said. “They had heard that (the cave) wasn't a safe place to go, but they found that was not true at all.”
More tours in Spanish are being considered by Mammoth Cave's management, she said. Price, who's on the park's equal employment opportunity commission, said the tour also ties into the park service's commitment to recruiting a more diverse field of candidates to work at national parks. “In order for people to work here, they have to know about the park,” Price said. She said the park has started contacting Hispanic churches to achieve that objective. Saturday's tour group consisted of congregants from Glasgow's Iglesia Emmanuel Church.
Dimas Miranda, the church's pastor, said before the tour that his group was excited about the opportunity. “They've never been before,” said Miranda, a Guatemalan native who come to Glasgow from California several years ago for factory work.
Price said tours aren't altered much for Hispanic visitors, apart from the language. “Most of our story is compelling enough that anyone in the world can identify with the mystique and interest in exploring the cave,” Price said.
Smith, who's worked seasonally at the park for about five years, said Saturday's tour talk focused on the mission of national parks and the relationship they have to communities. Typical historic tours at Mammoth Cave, which touch on the War of 1812 and slavery issues, might not have the same meaning for those not as familiar with U.S. history.
In the past, Hispanic groups have contacted Mammoth Cave about the possibility of cave tours and the park has conducted sporadic tours in Spanish, but Saturday's was the first formal outreach by the park to the Hispanic population in the region, Smith said.
Groups have generally been under 20, but “they've always been absolutely thrilled to be a part of that,” she said. “The reaction has been absolute awe,” Smith added. “It's just so dramatic going into the cave and seeing such a unique setting.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 41 million people in the United States are of Hispanic origin - about 14 percent of the population. A lot of Hispanic people in the area are of Mexican descent and Mexico has caves. Central America, in contrast, doesn't have many caves due to volcanic activity, said Smith, who lived in Costa Rica for about 20 years.
Smith said she takes some of her high school students on Spanish tours of the cave in October to learn how International iosphere Reserves, a group of sites set aside for conservation research, interact with communities. The Mammoth Cave trips compliment her Spanish class's community unit. They learn how Mammoth Cave communicates with biospheres in Latin America, she said.
bgdailynews.com/articles/2006/10/02/local_news/news/news4.txt
By Doug Waters dwaters@bgdailynews.com
October 2, 2006
Mammoth Cave National Park extended a deep invitation to the Hispanic community Saturday, as a group of nearly 20 got a free two-hour tour conducted in their native tongue. “This is the first time we've tried this,” said Leslie Price, the tour guide who organized Saturday's trek in conjunction with the National Park Service's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Price said Laurie Smith, a seasonal guide who doubles as a Spanish teacher at Todd County High School, gave Saturday's tour.
Saturday's tour included early stories that led to the park's formation and the uniqueness of the world's longest cave system. It was much more detailed than a typical tour given to first-time park visitors, she said. “The folks were just full of comments about how much they enjoyed it,” Price said. “They had heard that (the cave) wasn't a safe place to go, but they found that was not true at all.”
More tours in Spanish are being considered by Mammoth Cave's management, she said. Price, who's on the park's equal employment opportunity commission, said the tour also ties into the park service's commitment to recruiting a more diverse field of candidates to work at national parks. “In order for people to work here, they have to know about the park,” Price said. She said the park has started contacting Hispanic churches to achieve that objective. Saturday's tour group consisted of congregants from Glasgow's Iglesia Emmanuel Church.
Dimas Miranda, the church's pastor, said before the tour that his group was excited about the opportunity. “They've never been before,” said Miranda, a Guatemalan native who come to Glasgow from California several years ago for factory work.
Price said tours aren't altered much for Hispanic visitors, apart from the language. “Most of our story is compelling enough that anyone in the world can identify with the mystique and interest in exploring the cave,” Price said.
Smith, who's worked seasonally at the park for about five years, said Saturday's tour talk focused on the mission of national parks and the relationship they have to communities. Typical historic tours at Mammoth Cave, which touch on the War of 1812 and slavery issues, might not have the same meaning for those not as familiar with U.S. history.
In the past, Hispanic groups have contacted Mammoth Cave about the possibility of cave tours and the park has conducted sporadic tours in Spanish, but Saturday's was the first formal outreach by the park to the Hispanic population in the region, Smith said.
Groups have generally been under 20, but “they've always been absolutely thrilled to be a part of that,” she said. “The reaction has been absolute awe,” Smith added. “It's just so dramatic going into the cave and seeing such a unique setting.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 41 million people in the United States are of Hispanic origin - about 14 percent of the population. A lot of Hispanic people in the area are of Mexican descent and Mexico has caves. Central America, in contrast, doesn't have many caves due to volcanic activity, said Smith, who lived in Costa Rica for about 20 years.
Smith said she takes some of her high school students on Spanish tours of the cave in October to learn how International iosphere Reserves, a group of sites set aside for conservation research, interact with communities. The Mammoth Cave trips compliment her Spanish class's community unit. They learn how Mammoth Cave communicates with biospheres in Latin America, she said.
bgdailynews.com/articles/2006/10/02/local_news/news/news4.txt