Los Lunas Open Space Division receives Outdoor Equity Grant funds from the state

LOS LUNAS  — The Los Lunas Open Space Division was recently awarded the Outdoor Equity Grant by the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division (ORD) of the Economic Development Department.

This is the third of the last four years that the LLOSD has received the grant.

“We’ve been doing our Outdoor Adventure program for 15-16 years,” said Los Lunas Open Space supervisor Pat Jaramillo. “These are the first times that we’ve actually got money that was awarded to us. It helped fund these types of programs.

“Everything we did in the past, like archery, BB guns, field trips, and other things … and the parents had to pay for it. (The programs) were inexpensive,” he said. “But with this equity grant, it’s allowed us to really, you know, go to the next level and really get these kids into some really adventurous type trips.”

Los Lunas Open Space is using the $37,000 awarded for this season’s Nature Unleashed Outdoor Adventure series, a program that “aspires to connect about 520 local youths, ages 8-17, with nature through varied physical activities while promoting environmental learning and equitable access to public lands.”

“So what we use this for is actually to help pay for trips,” said Jaramillo. “As a matter of fact ...we’re going to take a ski trip up to Sandia (Peak). This will help pay for the lift tickets, the rentals, food, fuel and stuff as well.”

Other activities funded include bicycle trail rides, skiing and kayaking across New Mexico’s public lands and parks, guided by trained park staff. The focus for the series is serving at least 40 percent participants from low-income households and “fostering participant confidence, leadership, stewardship values, outdoor safety awareness, and community bonding,” according to Jaramillo.

“The (funding) is going to cover a lot of different things,” he said. “We’ve got some ski trips and some whitewater rafting trips planned. We have some fishing trips, horseback riding, and camping planned. Honestly, there’s quite a bit.”

This marks the third time in four years that LLOS has received an Outdoor Equity Grant. In 2022, LL Open Space received $15,995 for the “Every Body Rides with Grace” program, which seeks to draw attention to these barriers and increase accessibility to cycle riding for New Mexican youth with disabilities with adaptive bicycles.

In 2023, the department received $31,890 to fund its eight seasonal Outdoor Adventures, which included rafting, skiing, fishing, off-highway vehicle riding, and camping. Each Outdoor Adventure outing included groups of 10 to 20 youth participants.

In 2024, the Open Space Division was awarded the Outdoor Marketing Grant. The $14,000 grant was used to “enhance outdoor recreational opportunities for residents and visitors through a comprehensive marketing strategy that showcases existing resources and promotes new activities and community events.”

The Los Lunas Open Space Division has received a total of $98,885 over the last four years from the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division. All in all, 61 programs that provide outdoor education and career training to more than 22,000 youth across the state received funds.

Recipients will provide more than $1.7 million in matching funds, multiplying the impact. Forty of the awarded programs offer workforce development that connects youth directly to meaningful careers in New Mexico’s outdoors.