News & Stories

United World College-USA’s Sustainability & Safety Manager has called our campus to action around a key challenge: What if we could rehydrate New Mexico soils, use our campus as a carbon sink, increase our protection against forest fires and help reverse global warming?

1. What is the history of the Galisteo Basin Preserve and what makes it such a special place? The Galisteo Basin is not a national monument. But it could be. The basin’s vast expanse of savannah grasslands, meandering arroyos, and pinon-juniper forest – framed by the Ortiz Mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the northeast – comprise a landscape of subtle beauty. It is a place whose landforms set the stage for an ever-changing shadow play of light and clouds against an azure sky.

Since 1997, the Santa Fe Watershed Association has played an integral role in protecting the health and vibrancy of the Santa Fe River and its watershed though education, restoration, stewardship, and advocacy. As they celebrate 25 years, they reflect on victories of all sizes.

In celebrating their 25 years working in New Mexico and beyond, River Source continues to rekindle connections and capacity of people in rural, urban, and tribal communities to the rivers, lands, and regenerative approaches for building watershed resilience. They create participatory science, work-learn internships, and provide ecological restoration and monitoring services using community-centered engagement to harvest collective knowledge and commitment for restoring ecosystems and improve watershed health.

Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM - a 501(c)4 organization),and CVNM Education Fund (a 501(c)3 organization) are a family of nonprofit organizations headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their vision is for New Mexicans to thrive in just, resilient communities where conservation and cultural values guide decision-makers and public policies.

In honor of SFCF's environment focus in April, Santa Fe Community Foundation Hub Coordinator, Yolanda Cruz, talks to Paula Garcia, Executive Director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, about her organization's work in protecting our water and acequias, growing healthy food for our families and communities, and honoring our local heritage.