Pollination was LEAP’s theme in 2016. “The Buzz” permeated LEAP activities and programming throughout the year, from our science and art enrichment programs for Questa and Costilla elementary students in the spring, to NeoRio at Wild Rivers in the Fall. We also organized our annual Questa Earth Day event, the regional¡Pollinate! Art Show at OCHO in Questa, StorySLAM and Paint Out event at Wild Rivers, Dia de los Muertos Celebration and field trips for Questa Junior High Students.
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Each event and engagement deepened understandings of the phenomenal and beautiful roles of pollinators in our lives and ecosystems and brought people and "place" together in new ways.
Neo Rio 2016 @ Rio Grande del Norte National Monument
We also launched two new projects this year: The Northern NM Growers & Makers Exchange and the North Central NM Story Cache. The goals of these new projects are to enliven our communities, generate meaningful conversations, draw-out local stories, and celebrate histories and traditions, new and old. The Growers & Makers Exchange champions our local agricultural and artisan networks by localizing our economy with outlets to sell goods and other infrastructural support. The “Story Cache” is a local oral history/story archive and platform for cultural events and programming.
HUGE thank yous to all our 2016 LEAP volunteers, collaborators, artists, participants, donors and grant-providers! You all made it possible.
We look forward to more in 2017!
Northern NM Growers & Makers Exchange