Roots ~ Raices

It was beautiful weather on Saturday, Sept. 15, at Montoso Campground at Wild Rivers as over 250 people arrived to explore the theme “Roots ~ Raices” at LEAP’s 10th anniversary outdoor contemporary art celebration. Art installations included a “wall” of rooted willows, innovative backpack kits for “short adventures in place” and root words flapping in the breeze; hands-on activities were for all ages, notably a booth in homage to the lowly beet. Participants were captivated by impassioned young poets at the afternoon Poetry & Music Salon, a bountiful locally sourced (and served) feast, soulful tunes, and informative artist talks at dusk. Featured artists were Scott Sutton, Kacie Smith and UNM Land Arts of the American West artist group (a selection of which also comprised our poets this year); contributing artists were Nicholette Codding and Martha Shepp; featured local musicians were Mad Cat Jack Lorang, Mark Dudrow and Kate Mann. The local feast featured Questa Farmers Market produce and cooks. Approximately one third of the visitors hailed from within a 20-mile radius, and the other two-thirds were from further afield New Mexico towns and cities and surrounding states. NeoRio draws a wide array of participants, diverse in age, interests and cultural backgrounds.  

Join us for NeoRio 2019 on Saturday, September 21 at Wild Rivers to explore “Elements ~ building blocks of the Universe.”

Learn more or get involved with NeoRio at LEAPsite.org

Frontier Town

Questa Mayor Mark Gallegos presides over the opening of a downtown park

Questeños had a love-hate relationship with the molybdenum mine going back 90 years. Over its boom and bust history, the mine provided the economic backbone for the village and an honest living for generations of hard rock miners. As a Superfund site, the moly mine also leaves a legacy of soil, water and air pollution. When Chevron Mining permanently shuttered the mine, 300 locals found themselves abruptly out of work.

 Village leaders sprang into action—creating an economic development plan to fill the void. The plan (funded by Chevron Mining) envisions a sustainable and diverse economic future for Questa, New Mexico.  Outdoor recreation, art and culture, and a reemergence of local agriculture are key. Seeing as that’s our mission at Localogy, we were ready and willing do our part.

Two dignitaries cut the ribbon to open the new park.

 Through a grant from New Mexico Resiliency Alliance, hustled by Charlie Deans, Localogy sponsored a Façade Squad in partnership with Ocho Community Space and the historic Rael’s Market to spruce up downtown. With funding from the Questa Economic Development Fund we also sponsored the creation of a downtown park. Both projects were aimed at enticing tourist dollars to linger in a more vibrant village center.

 The flourish of activity has already inspired holiday events, a weekly makers and growers market, a studio tour, an oral history and historic trail project, and a monthly newspaper. Other development initiatives have included trout habitat improvement, a business park, revolving loan program, and a land and water board. Our LEAP program has been leading the way with major events at the newly minted Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, as well as numerous gallery openings, showcases, and community events downtown.

 Questa is a frontier community—resilient from the start. Questa was here long before the mine. It’s closing has been a hardship, but also an opportunity for Questeños to come together to forge a new economy.

You Are What You Eat—Be a Local

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Well folks, I finally bought the farm:

Land: 60 acres
Water: 35 million gallons, flood irrigation
Climate: 115 – 135 frost-free days

Who feeds you? What if you could get all of your food from people you know? You would know your food was grown right. Your money would stay local and come back around to you. You might have some food security come apocalypse time…

Taos County is big on local food. Our farmer’s market is the 3rd largest in the state.  Many restaurants make a point of sourcing local ingredients. There are thriving CSAs, growers’ cooperatives, and value-added producers.  Yet, nearly all of us still go to the grocery store for the majority of our calories. We survive on food from afar.

Our goal at Costilla Farm is to grow our own food—all of it.  Cereal grains, beans and peas, meat, eggs, dairy, maybe some fruits and nuts, whatever survives in this cold, dry, windy valley. There are plenty of excellent fresh vegetables available locally, so we’ll leave those to the experts (see Cerro Vista Farm).

I may be a fool to think we can do this, but it has been done here before. Not long ago this place was totally self-reliant. I know we won’t get rich farming in the high desert. One thing is for sure: we will get educated.

If we prove to be even slightly competent, we should end up with some extra food. That’s where you come in. If you live nearby, you will be able to get this well-rounded-100%-local diet. Just click the get fed button below and we’ll keep you in the loop. First come…first fed.

Summer campers from Sangre de Cristo Youth Ranch jump with joy at the first flood flow on Costilla Farm

Elementary Students = Students In Their Element

When Ms. Annalise said she wanted to take her second graders backpacking I said, “Our backpacks are bigger than your backpackers.”  But doing the impossible is nothing new for the Kindergarten through 2nd graders at Roots & Wings Community School. It’s rare for even high school students to go into the wilderness overnight, even at the most ambitious and exclusive private schools.  And here we are at this little public school camping out for three days in the mountains with five-year-olds.

2nd Graders head back to civilization

It’s a credit to the teachers that—in a state where the Governor is bent on shutting down all but the largest and most average schools—RWCS continues to get as far out there as a public school can be. Take Mr. VanEvery’s first trip with Localogy as an example.  His 3rd – 5th graders were studying food systems. In a planning meeting, he told me not to shop for Wednesday dinner because we were going to harvest it from the mountain! Pit roasted goat and prickly pear cactus never tasted so good.

The Roots & Wings mission is to engage the head, hands and heart   ̶  enabling students to achieve more than they think possible and to take an active role in our ever-changing world. Students who spend their days in tidy rows of desks will find themselves woefully unprepared in the real world. The world is a dynamic place, and so too must be our schools!

A 4th grader growing a brain