NeoRio 3: September 10, 2011

 
Artist, locals and visitors enjoy sunset and dinner on the rim

Artist, locals and visitors enjoy sunset and dinner on the rim

Rio Grand Gorge at Wild Rivers

Rio 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.

Black Sheep

 

Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes: Navajo-Churro sheep have a sordid history with the Government (read here).  So I guess it is no surprise that when our little flock got out during camp it took representatives from several agencies, half a dozen bystanders, a horse trailer, a big net, a lasso, a helicopter, and some luck to wrangle them.  Turns out that our outlaw sheep can give diseases to the wild bighorns that have been successfully re-introduced by the State in the nearby high country and down in the gorge.  The NM Department of Game and Fish was concerned about the escape, and so where we.  Lesson learned.  

The gang was eventually apprehended north of Questa at the VFW (they must like bingo night).  In the end, all it took was a little time and TLC to corral them.  The summer campers sheared the fugitives, and then carded, spun, washed, and wove with their infamous wool.

See Snapshots of Summer (and Summers Past)

Summer Campers show their true colors at the Arroyo Seco 4th of July Parad

Summer Campers show their true colors at the Arroyo Seco 4th of July Parad

Words can never do justice to the Summer Camp experience.  But, since a picture is worth a thousand words, we've posted some sweet photos from 2010.  Included in the gallery are archives from a few summers past.  Also be sure to check out the new movies.  Thank you to the superb staff, volunteers, donors, and campers who made the summer indescribable!  Visit our updated Partners page to see who those doers are.

Life Is Like an Onion

What does interdependence look like?  Let’s peel back the layers.

Little onions wait out a late frost in LCF

Little onions wait out a late frost in LCF

February- 7th and 8th graders at Roots and Wings (RWCS) plant 11,000 "candy" onion starts at school.  During science class they water the plants and compare the progress of starts germinated in potting soil vs. regular dirt.

May- RWCS Students spend a week on Sangre de Cristo Youth Ranch (SCYR) during the school’s annual Passage experience.  Students plant the onion sets out in the Lama Community Farm (LCF is a CSA started by RWCS students).

Onion project advisor Farmer Daniel takes delivery of 6,000 onion sets for Cerro Vista Farm (largest local CSA)

Onion project advisor Farmer Daniel takes delivery of 6,000 onion sets for Cerro Vista Farm (largest local CSA)

June-Community Farm members weed the rows.

July- Campers at SCYR tend the onions, and eat a few during the residential summer camp.  Campers sell produce at Taos Farmer’s Market, feeding the people of Taos.

September- 5th and 6th graders, studying the meaning of community, harvest the big onions.  Bulbs are weighed to complete the soil experiment.  Data is reviewed in planing for next season on the Community Farm.  Onions are distributed to LCF shareholders, including RWCS students and families.