The Singing River

Where do you find the Singing River?  It lives in the hearts of many in Questa NM, Taos Pueblo, and beyond.  It was a sanctuary of joy and wonder.  From 1999 through 2003, Singing River Field Center was a day camp located on the pristine sun-dappled banks of the Rio Cabresto.  It was a vision of Maggie and Aron Rael and friends for soulful environmental education.  And, in 2014 Singing River Field Center Day Camp is real again!

Local 8-11 year olds can once again mingle happy voices with the Singing River for two week-long day-camp sessions June 23 - 27 and June 30 - July 4.  Camp runs from 9am to 3:45pm Monday through Friday with a campout Thursday night.  Transportation is available.  Learn more and sign up here.  Spread the word and donate to the scholarship fund.

Oh the Places We've Been

Oddly enough, when I went to post the camp pictures, I found my collection consisted mostly of this character hamming it up. Here he can be seen rock climbing in the Crestone area (perhaps the most spectacular of the Rocky Mountains). Other Summer Campers also made it into a few good shots, including the teenagers who hiked here.

Having brought together extremely photogenic summer campers doing interesting things around spectacular scenery, I can now proudly present to you the absolute finest Sangre de Cristo Youth Ranch Summer Camp pictures.  As usual, we took it to the next level with our activities and destinations, and the results will amaze!  Click here to see.

The residents of this nest chose to construct and populate it in the Bud cabin during Session 1. The camper who shared this bunk didn't seem to mind

Youth Springs Eternal Food

These people look younger than the average farmer (57 years old).  That's good - I plan on eating for some time to come.

It has never been a harder time to be a farmer.  Cultural and economic forces have devalued the profession, eroded rural landscapes and communities, and sent a whole generation of would-be farmers fleeing an inheritance of toxic industrialized debt and drudgery in droves.  Most of the holdout farmers ain't spring chickens.  And when they go, our food supply will have really "bought the farm" as well.

Meanwhile, all kinds of observant youngsters are fired up about farming the right way because they know our lives depend on it.  Next to movie star, it's the hippest vocation to aspire to.  But with the cost of land, equipment, labor and other inputs - in the context of a society that does not value food - the serious young producer has a near impossible row to hoe before the first seed hits the soil.

Enter Cerro Vista Young Farmers.  Last year Daniel Carmona gave some young apprentices a 30+ year head start with the benefit of his experience, while they gave the biggest local produce producer the benefit of their focused labor.  At the end of the season, they embarked on their careers growing our food with some savvy in the ol' tool shed and some cash in the pocket.

Lama Mountain Internship

An LMI Pioneer shows a camper how to card wool from a sheep he tackled and sheared

Five college-age students participated in the first-ever Lama Mountain Internship (LMI) in 2013, Residential stays ranged from 1-3 months, and interns spent 30 hours a week engaging in activities related to homesteading in the high desert—from sheep shearing to food preservation, from composting to construction.

Shepherded by charter school founders Todd Wynward and Dr. Stephanie Owens, LMI was of significant benefit to both the interns and the host community. The individual interns gained new knowledge, deep friendships, improved skills, and clarified personal values from a “time apart” characterized by healthy localized living, meaningful work, wilderness experiences, group discussions and opportunities for deep reflection. The Mountain at large benefited significantly from the labor interns brought to projects—cultivating community gardens, caring for sheep and goats, installing a drip system, building a greenhouse and sustainable housing, and practicing youth leadership with SCYR Summer Camp and Roots and Wings Community School.

We are currently accepting applications for the 2014 internship season.  College credit may be available to participants.  Contact Todd for more information.

Camp- The Home of the Free and the Brave

This year, if we were going to go on down to Arroyo Seco and march in their iconic 4th of July Parade - by golly we were going to take home some prize money!  But what theme should we choose for the float?  The judges were looking for “Most Creative”, “Best Children's Entry," “Most Humorous," and “Best on Wheels." Every category was worth considering for our giant bus and its melting pot of young passengers; but we’re talking about the 4th of July here people!  So of course we set our sights on “Most Patriotic."

We had red, white and blue balloons, stovepipe top hats, stirring patriotic hymns, Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, an Eagle named Freedom… oh, and one giant tie-dyed American Flag.  The competition was fierce, and the stars and stripes were flying, but in the end, the declaration from the grandstand was SCYR #1!  The prize money will help us keep Summer Camp free for any kid who wants to attend.  And that was just one morning out of our 8-week action-packed summer.