Creating Lasting Connections With Partners Anahuak Youth Soccer Association


In a particularly park poor section of North East Los Angeles, a movement for environmental justice has begun on the soccer fields and is spreading into the local watershed and mountains. One group that plays a critical role in this growing community of environmental awareness is Anahuak Youth Sports Association (AYSA). The MRCA has partnered with AYSA to provide a largely Hispanic neighborhood with opportunities for outdoor nature experiences like hiking and camping, as well as showing them they have a voice in environmental issues through environmental education. As this partnership strengthens and the community develops into engaged stewards, North East Los Angeles is well on its way to being a force to be reckoned with.


Anahuak Youth Sports Association, founded in 1997, began as a small organization dedicated to providing soccer opportunities for local youth. The soccer club meant to keep kids off the streets and out of gangs has matured into an organization serving 1,400 youth, along with their families. With this rise in numbers has come a growth in purpose and influence. Soccer is still central to its unity and purpose, but Anahuak now looks to provide its young players and their families with outdoor nature experiences, a better understanding of the natural environment, and how they can actively influence how it is shaped.


The MRCA has partnered with Anahuak on various projects like the Junior Rangers program, Transit to Trails program, and a new camping program.


14 Symbiosis


Senator Kevin de León congratulates new Junior Rangers from Anahuak YSA.


“What’s been key in the partnership with MRCA is that a lot of people don’t have access to a car,” says Miguel Luna, Community Programs Coordinator for AYSA, “So we’re able to transport a whole family or a whole soccer team or a bunch of soccer teams with their families in a bus where they don’t have to worry about gas, they don’t have to worry about traffic, and they’re able to have just a day of respite in nature.”


Currently, the MRCA and Anahuak are in the process of creating a camping program to give players and their families the skills and space needed to learn how to safely go camping. For many, it will be their first experience cooking over a campfire and spending a night under the stars. This program will also allow many within the Anahuak organization to gain important leadership skills and experience. By hiring young adults from the organization to be Outdoor Leaders,


these individuals will be trained by our staff to lead team building activities, teach camping skills, and organize group camping trips.


Together Anahuak Youth Sports Association and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority are gaining ground in addressing the environmental justice issues of the greater Los Angeles area. Each trip to a natural park shows people a beautiful world beyond the cement and streets. Each lesson about the environment and its importance to every person provides reasons to act. The leadership skills learned and used in the variety of programs can and will be employed as they battle to bring environmental justice to their families and community. We hope this partnership and our programs not only educates, but also empowers.


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