10 Year Anniversary of Rio Fernando Park

Celebrate with us on September 13th as Rio Fernando Park marks its 10-year anniversary and a decade of shared vision, grassroots action, and community transformation in Taos.

A Story of Community Transformation

In 2015, Taos Land Trust purchased approximately 20 acres of degraded wetlands, fallow agricultural fields, and areas overrun by invasive weeds. The journey to transform this humble land into a public park that embodied the mission and vision of the Taos Land Trust—education, advocacy, and conservation—began with festive gatherings, explorations, and creative workshops where neighbors dreamed together about the land’s future.

These events included tree giveaways, student-led water testing, and participatory art projects such as yarn web weaving and origami idea boats released on the Rio Fernando river. Community voices shaped every step from mapping quiet spaces and play areas to brainstorming on chalkboards and story walks along emerging trails, deepening the connection between people and place.

What followed was years of hands-on work, restoring over 7 acres of wetlands, reviving acequias, and bringing 13 acres of fertile land back into production. Volunteers and youth groups replanted grains, wildflowers, and heritage crops, monitored water and soil health, and built habitat for beavers, birds, and butterflies.

As a result, Rio Fernando Park has become a place where agricultural traditions and ecological stewardship can flourish. Today, Rio Fernando Park offers walking trails through cottonwood groves, outdoor classrooms, a fairy forest, and hands-on experiences in gardening and land stewardship. It stands as a living example to what can happen when community and nature collaborate.

Anniversary Party

On Saturday, September 13, from 11 AM to 6 PM, everyone is invited to join the 10-year celebration at Rio Fernando Park (410 La Posta Road, Taos). The day features talks and workshops on soil health, gardening, and fabric dyeing with native plants, plus a free community meal at 3:30 PM, music, hay rides, and activities for kids made possible by the Taos County Lodgers Tax Grant, Taos Community Foundation and Kit Carson Electric Cooperative. Bring your friends and family! (Flyer below)

Upcoming Compost Event

Lend a hand and learn about composting at our next community event! Thanks to generous food scrap donations, our composting systems are thriving—but we need volunteers who can commit to helping out at least once a month. Attend our compost volunteer training on September 5, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, to learn how to process food scraps into our composting systems. You’ll be “certified” as an official Taos Land Trust Compost Volunteer and can work independently. As a thank you, volunteers will receive a Rio Fernando Park hat, t-shirt, and next spring, a bucket of biologically active Johnson-Su Bioreactor compost for their own garden. 

Harvest Time in the Garden

In other news, our educational gardens are in peak harvest mode. Students are busy harvesting cucumbers, melons, cabbage, zucchini, jalapenos, onions, potatoes, and even turning some of our garlic into garlic powder. All of our food is donated to the community: interns, Vista Grande families, and local food pantries benefit from the bounty. For the next couple of weeks, everyone is welcome to harvest sunflowers. Bring your own scissors or clippers to help us keep the garden beds tidy, and take some home for free!