DENVER — The mountains of Colorado sing a song all their own: The rushing water, animal sounds, birds singing.
And for many people, the feelings they get outdoors and the sounds that surround them, heal.
“I’d rather be doing this than anything else – instead of staring at computer screens,” said Dominic Lucero, while fly fishing in a calm spot on Clear Creek just west of Idaho Springs. “It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful out here.”
Lucero grew up on Denver’s north side and spent a lot of time heading west into the Colorado Rockies with his family. The outdoors was his favorite place to be. He said he knows not all kids have that option.
“My identity is Chicano – it’s an identity of indigenous and Mexican descent,” Lucero said as he watched for fish below the water’s surface. “What I think the biggest barrier [to the outdoors] is the mental conditioning for our black and brown people to know they are worthy of these experiences.
“It’s super harmful to live in Colorado and see the mountains and not be able to experience it – what that does to your spirit.”
His group, Colorado Treks, was born out of Lucero’s desire to see more diversity in outdoor activities. He wanted Denver-area kids to be able to experience what he called “the medicine of the mountains.”
“I want to get people hooked on this thing called the outdoors,” Lucero said. “I want to get them hooked on life, enjoying life by doing stuff like this.”
Lucero said he knows first-hand how the mountains can be healing. When he was 12 years old, he was stabbed by a classmate as he was walking home from school. He said he and the other student had been picking on each other. Those moments turned into a life-changing one.
“My world turned upside down – it went from bright to dark, and what kept me out of that darkness was these mountains these spaces and places,” Lucero said. “I took that medicine I gained when I was a kid, and I was like, ‘I want to do this for others who have experienced what I’ve experienced and help them get out of this.'”
So far, Colorado Treks has helped 1,000 youths participate in outdoor experiences like fishing, skiing, rock climbing, and camping. Lucero said it is also important to him to get families and parents involved, so all of the activities are free to participants.
“There are so many factors of what we’re healing from, and I just want to give every family the opportunity to heal,” Lucero said. “The biggest barriers are belonging and money, so we break down those barriers with Colorado Treks and we include and incorporate our culture in all those experiences.”
The activities head into metro area classrooms as well. Colorado Treks has had partnerships with eight schools so far, since its start in 2016. Students participate in activities like equine therapy and sound bathing.
“The outdoors culture is something people seek from all over the world – it’s important that our communities that haven’t had access are part of this culture,” Lucero said. “Whether or not our community members become preservationists, conservationists, biologists, park rangers – I just want them to know this space and place is for them. It’s always been for them.”