{"id":32093,"date":"2023-08-26T01:05:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T07:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-countys-sustainable-agriculture-movement\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:52:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:52:27","slug":"montezuma-countys-sustainable-agriculture-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-countys-sustainable-agriculture-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma County\u2019s sustainable agriculture movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Montezuma
Montezuma Land Conservancy on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Montezuma County hosts organizations that promote sustainability in agriculture and offer educational resources for people of all ages. From saving seeds to selling produce, Montezuma County fosters advocacy for growth in environmental and social justice.<\/p>\n

. The work that the following organizations put in to spread the wealth of fresh food is expansive, which supports health and food security in the dry desert climate.<\/p>\n

Montezuma School to Farm Project<\/div>\n

Nestled between a busy road and Montezuma-Cortez Middle School with its baseball field nearby, Ben Goodrich, the 34-year-old executive director of School to Farm Project, points out rows of fruit trees (mostly apple) and vegetable crops, such as kale, corn and beans. He said he\u2019s excited about teaching kids the importance of growing food.<\/p>\n

Goodrich called it a tragedy that people lost the skill within a couple of generations. Food literacy brings the security that he hopes future generations to obtain.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma
Montezuma School to Farm Project at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cOf all the places I\u2019ve farmed in the country, this is the most challenging climate and so that\u2019s why I decided it\u2019s time to go back to Southwest Colorado,\u201d Goodrich, 34, said.<\/p>\n

In 2018. he returned and worked as a gardener with the Mancos Conservation District. Once the program grew to serve Montezuma County, he helped establish the Montezuma School to Farm Project as a nonprofit in 2020.<\/p>\n

With two full-time employees and support from its garden coordinators \u2013 a cohort of seven teachers from the district \u2013 they will educate about 1,500 students this year. They also have summer internship opportunities for high school students through Southwest Conservation Corps, where the interns and students build their skills through food production, nutrition and resource conservation.<\/p>\n

The organization mainly works with pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade students, bridging agriculture with academics together and incorporating Indigenous agricultural techniques.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma
Montezuma School to Farm Project at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe always like to have some kind of tasting components with lessons,\u201d he said. \u201cAlmost in every lesson the kids learn how to make either a simple salad dressing or how to prepare green beans, something really easy and basic that they can bring back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodrich said the organization wants to gain educators\u2019 perspectives of the outdoor classroom as an asset, since STEM education is easily accessible outside even when weather conditions are not ideal.<\/p>\n

The school gardens they serve \u2013 Mesa, Kemper and Mancos \u2013 grow regional food including beans, wheat and corn. They also received 70 fruit trees from Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project, now growing at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School. On top of growing food, they also teach food production, such as milling grains.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma
Montezuma School to Farm Project orchard at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Montezuma
Montezuma School to Farm Project orchard apples at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Additionally, the organization introduces marketing skills at the farm stand they set up at the Cortez Farmer\u2019s Market in August. Although they\u2019re there just a couple times in the season, they set up a weekly stand to give away produce at Southwest Open School, where many of the interns take ownership of their work from seed to feeding others.<\/p>\n

When looking into the future, Goodrich would like to see the students expand their knowledge of sustainable agriculture and incorporate creative methods such as flower arrangements and culinary skills.<\/p>\n

He wants to figure out how they can develop a program that really works for the kids and schools in this climate so they can replicate it as a model for other schools.<\/p>\n

New Mexico Agriculture in the Classroom<\/div>\n

Primarily funded by the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, the nonprofit New Mexico Agriculture in the Classroom trains the general public with specific attention toward K-12 students and teachers about agriculture\u2019s significance and natural resource education in the Four Corners region.<\/p>\n

Ranchers and farmers make up 2% of the U.S. population, and the organization is concerned that production won\u2019t keep up with the growing population. The more detached people are from nature, a misconception evolves about food growth and production.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are often awed when discovering such simple things as all cows are female and only produce milk for a given time after they have a calf, that chocolate milk doesn\u2019t come from brown cows, cotton grows on plants (and not sheep) or exploring the basic parts of a plant that we use and how we use it,\u201d Traci Curry, director of New Mexico Agriculture in the Classroom, said in an email.<\/p>\n

To combat this conundrum, the organization supplies free education resources from their website. They also hold NM Grow Project Grant workshops where participants learn how to set up hydroponic systems and build raised beds. Recent grant winners each received a raised bed and hoop system, drip irrigation system, hydroponics system and additional educational tools.<\/p>\n

The organization also created the NM Ag Literacy Project for elementary schools in their own communities. There, children receive books, visits with farmers and ranchers, field trips, AgXplorer events, hands-on activities and recipes. They also incorporate Indigenous teachings and agricultural methods in their plans.<\/p>\n

Because various locations in the region are slightly different ecologically, the organization encourages educators to also work with their area Cooperative County Extensive agents to get a better understanding of their climate and conditions.<\/p>\n

Seed Lending Library<\/div>\n

Midge Kirk, who directs adult programs at the Mancos Public Library, doesn\u2019t remember the exact year she and a co-worker opened the Seed Lending Library, but it began in 2010 or 2011.<\/p>\n

Their purpose and inspiration to save seeds promotes non-GMO, heritage and organic gardening. Kirk said that since food has been genetically altered and the nutritional value lost, she and her co-worker wanted to return to the back-to-the-land movement, where self-sufficiency supplies healthy soil and healthy food.<\/p>\n

The Seed Lending Library can be this type of foundation for the small Mancos community.<\/p>\n

Anyone can join, and they ask folks to let one plant go to seed and bring the seeds back to them in order for the stock to be replenished. There\u2019s no penalty if that doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

About 100 people are members, and share vegetable, fruit, herb and flower seeds. Seed screens exist at the library for customers to filter out their seeds after their plants have gone to seed, thus allowing them to share the bounty with the rest of the community.<\/p>\n

Members of the program vary in age. As long as people are proactive, the library is thrilled for anyone to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just had this one little boy who\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, watermelon watermelon,\u2019\u201d Kirk said. \u201cAnd that was weeks ago they took the watermelon seeds home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montezuma Land Conservancy<\/div>\n

In early July, Cultivando, a high school-age group from Commerce City that serves the Latino community in Adams County, had tents set up and people preparing food for dinner after an eventful day in Montezuma County. Guadalupe, a member who helped prepare the food under an open tent, said the group focuses on environmental justice, something she sees that\u2019s desperately needed in Commerce City.<\/p>\n

\"The
The environmental justice group, Cultivando, based in Commerce City, sets up for dinner at Montezuma Land Conservancy on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s great to get away from the inner city,\u201d Guadalupe said. \u201cWe have an oil refinery area and so the air is never this good. And the water, you can\u2019t drink from the tap in Commerce City because it doesn\u2019t taste good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay Loschert, Montezuma Land Conservancy\u2019s community programs director, welcomed the group to Fozzie\u2019s Farm for a few days to expand their knowledge on sustainability and social justice, with the hopes that they can bring ideas home to enrich their communities.<\/p>\n

The Conservancy sits on 83 acres and runs an irrigated farm in Lewis where they grow and teach people the importance of sustainable agriculture and land use. Since 2016, Fozzie\u2019s Farm has taught important agricultural techniques and they incorporate Indigenous practices into the land.<\/p>\n

On a conservation level, soil health is necessary when it comes to adapting to the unavoidable climate change. Loschert said that for every 1% increase in soil and organic carbon, the soil is able to store between 20,000 and 27,000 gallons of water per acre.<\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s three goals include land conservation, education and developing cross cultural opportunities with the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. They hire young folks from Southwest Open School to develop skills in conservation and social justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe youths we connect with come from very diverse backgrounds,\u201d Loschert said. \u201cBridging two Native cultures along with the white culture has brought an awareness of how we connect with the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they did with <\/em>Cultivando, Montezuma Land Conservancy hosts a variety of field trips, where they have several places to learn \u2013 an education center, classroom space and the farm itself as a classroom. They recently hired a Spanish-speaking assistant.<\/p>\n

\"Compost
Compost and a hoop house at Fozzie\u2019s Farm on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fozzie's
Fozzie's Farm on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span>Colette Czarnecki<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe talked about building connection to the land and feeling like we\u2019re part of ecosystems and part of this place. I don\u2019t think you really can have an authentic relationship with anyone or anything if you don\u2019t really acknowledge the past and the present,\u201d Loschert said. \u201cI think part of the history of this land is a history of colonization, and so we talked about how this often refers to the original inhabitants and the Indigenous people who have roots here and still maintain connections to this place; how that\u2019s been altered in history and what\u2019s the role of the conservation movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montezuma County Orchard Restoration Project<\/div>\n

On a hot July day just outside of Cortez\u2019s business district, a group of high school and college-age SCC students sit on the ground listening to Jude Schuenemeyer, MORP\u2019s co-director. He talks about the new baby orchard trees they\u2019re going to plant.<\/p>\n

\"Jude
Jude Schuenemeyer, MORP\u2019s co-director, talks with Southwest Conservation Corps members about cultivating rare genetic orchard trees on July 12, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

On this day they learned about MORP\u2019s focus on preserving historic cultivars, mostly apple trees, and their deep history in Montezuma County. Many of these trees that MORP conserves date to more than 100 years ago, when orchards thrived in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese trees are still here.\u201d Schunemeyer said. \u201cWhat we want to do is use this to be the genetic thing for the next 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organization has been rebuilding the orchard economy by cultivating the old genetics.<\/p>\n

They also partnered with the Montezuma County Historical Society to acknowledge the strong culture and economy that the area\u2019s orchards once had.<\/p>\n

Schuenemeyer said MORP preserves the rarest genetics by testing each tree\u2019s DNA and planting them in their orchard alongside other historic fruit trees.<\/p>\n

\"One
One rare genetic tree at Montezuma County Orchard Restoration Project on July 12. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Schuenemeyer said they focus on water conservation in order for the trees to survive the Four Corners climate. Although it might seem counterintuitive, they flood the land once a month to keep the soil saturated. They still irrigate the trees, but less than normal because the soil has been saturated.<\/p>\n

They promote conservation by inspiring other people to grow orchards in Montezuma County, supplying them with genetic trees. Once mature, many of the apples are sold to local cideries in the area, thereby enriching the local economy.<\/p>\n

Jessica McIntyre, 43, obtained trees from MORP for her family\u2019s property.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started with 60 apple trees, and I\u2019m guessing we have 80 now,\u201d she said, although her husband corrected the number to 100 because of the new baby trees they got. \u201cWe love growing stuff. We sell our apples at Fenceline and Esoterra cideries.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORP has also donated trees to eight heritage schools in partnership with the Montezuma School to Farm Program, as was highlighted at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School.<\/p>\n

Schuenemeyer said their cultivars include Ben Davis, Winesaps and Colorado Oranges. They also have many unknown varieties that DNA tests weren\u2019t able to detect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know they were in an orchard. We know they were grafted. We know they were historic cultivars,\u201d Schuenmeyer said. \u201cThey just don\u2019t have a name with them anymore. Maybe we can do it and maybe we can\u2019t. Keeping the trees alive is what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

How to participate<\/h4>\n

Ben Goodrich works with plants at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School for the Montezuma School to Farm Project on July 11, 2023. Colette Czarnecki\/The Journal Mancos Public Library Seed Lending Library<\/strong><\/a>(970) 533-7600Montezuma Land Conservancy<\/strong><\/a>(970) 565-1664216 W. Montezuma Ave., CortezMontezuma County Orchard Restoration Project<\/strong><\/a>(970) 565-3099New Mexico Agriculture in the Classroom<\/strong><\/a> 55683712<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

organizations educate community members and ensure that local agriculture thrives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29,445],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-32093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-newsletter-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81672,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32093\/revisions\/81672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32093"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=32093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}