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The Service mission is about conserving nature – and connecting people with nature – for the benefit of future generations. We do this work where people are - on the landscape, yes, but also in our digital spaces. And despite our name, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conservation mission extends our work beyond the United States, as we work internationally to conserve nature for future generations.
Through a podcast collaboration with CumbreKids media, the Service is reaching out to share the amazing wonders of nature and the passions of our experts with a new generation of Spanish-speaking kids, and the parents and families who listen alongside them. Co-founders and hosts Katherin Aguilar and Gerwuin Riera join five Service experts to take kids on a journey exploring our fascinating world, one plant, animal or place at a time. In the process, the collaboration inspires curiosity about the world around us and encourages families to find personal connections with nature – helping to nurture future conservation leaders around the globe.
Podcasts are particularly powerful for connecting with Hispanic and Latino families in the U.S., Spain, and Latin America. And Latinos can be a particularly powerful force for conservation: according to the Nature of Americans report, 83% – a greater proportion than any other racial group – recognize the benefits of nature as being highly important. Through CumbreKids, the Service is partnering to reach kids in Spain, the U.S. and across Latin America with messages about conservation. The collaboration features two podcasts: Cráneo, which covers all things science and has appeared among the top “Education for Kids” podcasts in 45 countries, including among the top 10 in the U.S.; and Camaleón, which explores animals and plants with lessons about conservation and the environment.
Each episode explores the sounds and wonders of a featured topic and follows the interests of kids who submit questions in advance. Kids even help to host the episodes themselves: Gema, a 10-year old Venezuelan living in Colombia who wants to be a biologist, is featured on episodes about ocelots, bats and Puerto Rican harlequin butterflies; and Isabella, a 7-year old from Colombia who wants to develop vaccines, appears on episodes about carnivorous pitcher plants and the invasive lionfish. Alongside hosts Katherin and Gerwuin, Service experts help paint vivid pictures in the mind while answering questions and sharing fascinating stories about the work that fuels their passions, and about how they landed in conservation careers.
The episodes seem to be hitting the mark. Since the first one dropped on July 11, families have played seven episodes over 33,000 times. More than 500 questions were shared for Service experts to answer, and kids have spent more than 13,600 hours engaged in learning about science and conservation topics from Service experts. With more than 100,000 families following Cráneo on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music or YouTube music, the collaboration has given the Service a new way to connect kids around the world with our passionate employees and with the nature around them.
In honor of Latino Conservation Week and Hispanic Heritage Month, the Service also worked to connect CumbreKids with our partners at the Hispanic Access Foundation to create a special kids activity in both English and Spanish that can be completed at any nearby park. Check out how kids around the world can connect with nature through this special episode, found here.
Each of the individual, free episodes featuring Service experts can be found here:
- Camaleón: Ocelots featuring Laura Marta de la Garza (July 11)
- Cráneo: Wetlands featuring Angel Colón-Santiago (July 23)
- Camaleón: Puerto Rico harlequin butterfly featuring Carlos Pacheco (August 1)
- Camaleón: Mountain sweet pitcher plant featuring Natalí Ramirez-Bullón (August 22)
- Cráneo: Cactus featuring Natalí Ramirez-Bullón (September 3)
- Camaleón: Lionfish featuring Carlos Pacheco (September 19)
- Camaleón: Mexican free-tailed bat featuring Jennifer Smith-Castro (October 17)
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