Meet Our Future Land Stewards

Spring Garden Apprentice Program, funded by the NM Outdoor Recreation Division’s Outdoor Equity Fund, is underway! We’ve welcomed two garden apprentices this spring, Diego and Chiara, who are already busy learning about starting seeds, no-till garden bed preparation, compost production, and goat care. They’ve even splinted a gimpy turkey and helped train our goats on electric fencing. They are total rockstars, and we’re so happy to have them here.

Last week, we hosted THS’ Sustainable Living class for a day of goat shelter building. Seniors in Taos High’s Sustainable Living course have been learning construction and skilled trades through a dual-credit partnership with UNM-Taos and Taos High School to complete MC3 certification. Over the winter months, students submitted goat shelter design plans; we selected the winning design, and just last week students came out for a full-day field trip to put that design into action.

The resulting shelter will provide winter cover for our goats and is built almost entirely from repurposed or donated materials. This shed is part of our ongoing Regenerative Grazing Project, sponsored by the LOR Foundation. We are so grateful for the support of the LOR Foundation, THS students, Chamisa Goatworks, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps NM, our natural resource interns, and our CEO Friday interns for all their planning and support in getting grazing animals back onto historical agricultural lands.

Our spring natural resource internship will be wrapping up in the coming weeks. This crew has worked incredibly hard, showing up after long days of school for hands-on learning in all things natural resources.

We are so impressed with all the young people who have worked with us this past school year. They are passionate about conservation, kind and supportive of one another, and genuinely curious about the natural world. Congratulations to our seniors who will graduate next month: Ezekiel, Flora, Jewelysa, Mateo, and Chiara.

Your support helps power hands-on programs that connect young people to land stewardship, conservation, and real-world skills. Make a gift today to keep these opportunities growing for the next generation.