5 Days to Make the Movie!

Localogy’s grassroots media arm is flexing.  Recognizing the power of film to shape the ideas that shape our lives, and the necessity of placing that power directly in the hands of the people, we are excited about the dramatic feature film, “Baby Lu”.  Ascending director Emily Ray Reese is intent on telling rare, genuine stories that put the typical tired, warmed-over Hollywood plotline to shame.  Learn more about the project: click here.

Back in the day, Emily started our summer camp film program, guiding the campers all the way from script writing, through the final edits of the youth-produced epics “Mr. Q” and “Kiss of Death”.  Ms. Reese has come a long way from her camp counselor days- wrapping up a Masters at the prestigious NYU Graduate Program in Film and Television.  

Production of the film will be based at the Ranch with a largely local cast and crew.  Local youth will be mentored in a full-fledged top-flight film production.   Baby Lu has 5 days to reach its funding goal, and it's all or nothing.  if you support taking our culture to a new level, donate here and pass this on to all your friends and make it viral.

Flight of Fancy

During April and May, NeoKite artists and volunteers worked with classes from the Questa Alta Vista Elementary and Rio Costilla Elementary Schools, introducing them to the history and art of tethered aircraft. Kite and windsock-making workshops were followed by field trips to the Wild Rivers Recreation Area. The students had a great time flying their new wind-art creations and hiking. 

The project will culminate in September with a kite exhibition at Ocho, a new art space in Questa, and at NeoRio with the premiere of the NeoKite project video. NeoKite is organized by LEAP, Wild Earth Studio, and local artist volunteers in collaboration with the BLM Taos Field Office and the Questa School District.  Click to read more about NeoKite and NeoRio 2012

Put Your Back Into It

When is the last time you felt really proud of yourself?  When you did something, not because someone was watching, or you had to, but just because it was the right thing to do?  Those of you who helped raise $17,000 dollars for camp last summer surely know the feeling. 

Why are these campers pulling an outhouse up an mountain? Because they can!

I’m always amazed when I find a donation check in the mail.  I picture you taking the time to sit down and write in a dollar amount, when you could so easily put it off, forget about it, and keep it for yourself.  That’s what Bud’s camp has always been about- rolling up the sleeves and just quietly doing what needs to be done. 

We have to raise $20,000 right now for the 70 campers this summer.  I hope you will help.  Not because writing a check is glamorous, but because those kids need the ranch, and only together can we give it to them.  

Please visit the donate page.

Community Agriculture

Lama Ladies put the Community in "Community Supported Agriculture"Most critters on Earth spend the majority of their waking hours finding food.  If we don’t eat enough calories, we don’t stay alive.  And one timeless rule of nature: you have to put out calories to get calories.  Never in history have people gotten more food for less actual work than in America today.

The average farmer in Iowa feeds 155 other individual people.  Feeding the whole world by yourself on a tight budget is hard work.  No wonder those guys cut some corners- dumping toxic chemicals on our food, rearranging its DNA, washing thousands of years of topsoil into the gulf of Mexico, etc.

Our food comes from a natural system.  Ultimately, the only way the system will be healthy is if we participate in it- every person, every day.

This year, the working members of the Lama Community Farm have taken control of their calories.  For several months, the neighbor farmers have been meeting weekly to plan and plant a true community food project.  There’s a lot of work ahead, it’s a big learning curve for all of us, and you never know how a growing season will go.  But one thing is for sure- there’s no more noble way to spend the day than feeding yourself and your friends.

Good Seed Bad Seed

The latest radio series from Paradigm Projects producer / founder Sarah Parker and the RWCS kids:

QTown Records

QTown Records is a production company helping local musicians produce, record, print and distribute music.  Based out of Bear Rock Studio in El Rito NM, QTown’s furthers the work of artist by guiding them through the recording process.

Founded this year by Tim Long, Michael Rael and Wyman Edwards, the company has already produced a music video of a song by David Dawson called What About We.  QTown also produced, recorded and is distributing a cd of songs by Rita Tafoya.

QTown is planning to be an educational resource for students to learn the art of audio/video recording and production.

Water, Right? - Taos Undercurrents

Water through a new lens- RWCS students focus on filmmaking skilz

Few issues are more explosive in the desert Southwest than water, yet we all tend to take it for granted.  How does water get to our tap, and will it be there tomorrow?  

“Water, Right?" is a short documentary film researched, filmed and edited by middle school students at Roots and Wings Community School in partnership with Localogy, Taos Shortz and film students from Santa Fe University of Art and Design.  The May premiere drew an enthusiastic response, and later in the year we will release the full hour-long version delving deeper into the issues.

The film taps the questions: Who owns the water in Taos? How will climate change impact our water? Should Santa Fe be allowed to take water from Taos County? Is water private property of a human right? What are the limits of growth? Should Taos County pass a Land Use Code? Who should get the water: municipalities or farmers? What is a water right? What is the history of water in our communities? Who should make decisions about our water? How expensive will water be in the future? What can we do to protect our water?

The students also published a companion volume of essays, called “The Last Drop”.  The book features content from the movie, bonus interviews and creative works.  Copies can be purchased for $5.  To get your copy of the book, or arrange a local showing of the movie, contact Daniel

Roots and Wings Now Enrolling K-8

Imagine a free public school with all of the benefits of a private school- small class sizes, highly qualified faculty, a diligent anti-bullying culture, world-class wilderness and service experiences, and instructional techniques proven to let every kind of mind thrive.  

Roots and Wings Community School, one of the first charter schools in New Mexico, has long been at the forefront of the school reform movement.  Within the Expeditionary Learning model, students learn with a purpose.  It isn't about the artificial reward of a letter grade; it's about producing something relevant, with real consequences for the larger community.

Roots and Wings students put their math, social studies, science, reading and writing skills to the test by proposing a bag fee ordinance to reduce pollution from single-use plastic bags in TaosRoots and Wings is expanding to serve Kindergarten through eighth grade.  We're excited to see the younger students out on the ranch, exercising their natural curiosity about the world.  If you know of a child in Taos County who deserves a lifelong love of learning, encourage her or him to enroll: (575) 586-2076 or info@rwcs.org.

Camp Pictures 2011

Why are there so many pictures in this album?  Because Session 1 was simply bigger and more vivid this year.  31 singing and giggling children for the month of July.  See them in the Gallery.

2.7168561 Miles Above Average

The adolescent North American Human, seen here in its native habitat (14,345 ft Mount Blanca). Few specimens survive in the wild.Youth between the ages of 8-18 are subjected to nearly eleven hours of electronic media on average every day.  This represents a vast and unprecedented sociological experiment being conducted on an entire generation during their formative years.  You may be please to learn that these virtual teens are still capable of navigating a place called physical reality.  A few were spotted August 3rd 2011 on Mount Blanca, one of Colorado’s more rugged Fourteeners.  That day, the adolescents carried everything necessary for survival on their backs for 13 miles and eight thousand vertical feet.  This is a landscape of solid granite.  There was not so much as a “tweet”, except from some birds.  For realz!

See more images from Session 2 2011

Be Like Bud

For 27 years Dr. Wilson has invested freely in the future of humanity.  This year many others are joining Bud to fund the unique tradition of tuition-free summer camp at the Sangre de Cristo Youth Ranch.  Our first Annual Camp Campaign was touched off with an unforgettable evening in honor of Dr. Wilson hosted by Karen Todd at the Dragonfly Cafe.  Camp star Freedom Hopkins debuted his short film at the event (see below).  THANK YOU to the team of dear volunteers and donors who raised enough to employ our excellent 2011 summer staff.  Money can't buy you love, but it can buy food for children from all walks of life who are practicing unconditional love for a month on a ranch in Lama New Mexico.  If you think that's a good deal, click here: Donate

This is a Beautiful Movie

The Grass is Always Greener

Spring 2011 was looking dire.  No snow.  Dry pastures.  Screaming winds.  The grass was slow, and the acequia was low.  Bad news for our hungry team of horses, yaks, goats and sheep, and the people who depend on them.  Just then, some good neighbors stepped in!  Why limit our grazing plan to the boarders of the ranch?  Why not graze all over the mountain?  The animals keep the brittle pasture healthy, and the grass returns the favor.  Just like nature intended.  It’s called a symbiotic relationship- kind of like when neighbors help each other out.  Read a rambling explanation of how goat guts can save the world.

Experts Name Bottle-Fed Yak “Cutest Thing on Earth Ever!”

Initially, authorities released only this cropped image of the creature fearing its "cuteness" could incite public hystariaSome may claim that the soft curly fur, gangly knock-kneed legs, round fuzzy ears, 1-inch eyelashes, deep dark innocent eyes, pouting little lips, and a buck-toothed under bite are cute.  However, the real cute stuff is prancing and stumbling around with the dogs, napping in the sun, nuzzling children, wagging the tail, and suckling on visitor’s elbows.   Time will tell if this guy can still pull off cute when he mutates into a thousand-pound bull.  At least when Bucky grows up he will still follow us around and let us comb his fleece (warmer than Marino wool, softer than cashmere, and stronger than camel).Bucky the Bottle Fed Baby Yak Bull

Summer Season Dates

Saturday June 4^th            Keep the Campfires Burning fundraiser dinner 5-10pm at the Dragonfly Café in Taos.

June 15^th – 18^th            Work Party Weekend Parents, campers, alumni, camp staff, and local community members volunteer to get the ranch in shape for the summer programs.  Participants camp out, sharing meals and campfires, and can go rafting the mighty Rio on Monday.

June 19th – 22nd                   Staff Week

June 24th – July 21st            Session 1: 10-12 y/o campers

July 22nd – August 4^th            Session 2: teenage campers

On the Path to Higher Education

“Back in my day, we had to walk a mile to school every morning, up a mountain, through the snow!”  That’s what Roots and Wings Students will someday say reminiscing about middle school.  Now they can add, “And I had to build the trail by hand!”  Those Southern Methodist University Volunteers were back again on their spring break.  This year, in collaboration with RWCS students and teachers, Localogy and the Wilson family, the do-gooder undergrads constructed a trail up from the highway as part of a Safe Route to School grant.  The trail gets the kids off the County road, and meanders through Dr. Wilson’s’ latest conservation easement with the Taos Land Trust. Bud and Barb have now permanently protected 670 acres of his stunning ranch as a corridor for wildlife and wild children.

Fine Dining to Benefit Camp, Save the Date

Click above to see more pictures of CampOn Saturday June 4th 2011, we will celebrate the bold vision of Sange de Cristo Youth Ranch founder, Dr. John Wilson, with fine dining, music, and camaraderie at Taos' acclaimed Dragonfly Cafe.  Tickets will be available mid March.  Seating is limited.  Stay tuned.

The benefit is part of our first annual campaign.  To continue, camp needs a modest community of committed donors.  This year, we are looking to connect with people who can give this vital program life into the future.  If you know of anyone who would enjoy supporting our charitable mission, please invite them to the event.  If you can help with the fundraising campaign, please contact us.

**NEW** Work Party Weekend, June 17-19

Are you a camp parent who appreciates the program and wants to help out on the ranch?

Are you a camp staffer who wants to show up early to enjoy the place before staff week?

Are you an alumni who wants to touch base with your home away from home?

Are you a camper who just can't get enough?

Are you someone who likes doing an honest day's work, with good friends, and good food, for a good cause?

Sign up for the new Sangre de Cristo Youth Ranch Work Party Weekend!  There is always plenty to do to get camp in shape for the season, and this Spring we're gonna get it done together.  Friday June 17th through Sunday June 19th, friends of the ranch new and old will be camping out, working, eating, and playing together, just like at camp!  On Monday the 20th, volunteers are welcome to stay and raft down the Rio with the incoming summer staff.  Show up for a half day, or stay all weekend.  Families welcome.  Please Registerso we can plan the food.

NeoRio 3: September 10, 2011

Artist, locals and visitors enjoy sunset and dinner on the rimRio Grand Gorge at Wild Rivers

Join in the third annual NeoRio, a celebration of art, nature, culture and community. You are invited to the Wild Rivers Recreation Area, to experience and celebrate the place through arts and community. The ancient relationship between humans, our fellow creatures and our environment is a complex story of interdependence. NeoRio attempts to explore this story through innovative artworks and events. It asks: what is the role of art in experiencing and protecting wild lands and what is the role of wild lands in art? Hosted by the BLM Taos Field Office, NeoRio is organized by LEAP (Land, Experience and Art of Place), in collaboration with New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, John Wenger of Wild Earth Studio, the Village of Questa and others.

To learn more visit www.leapsite.org or to become involved as a volunteer email Claire at emailforleap@gmail.com.