NMCEWL 2021 Summit

Bees date back over 10,000 years on the American continent and are vital to the health of almost every bite we eat, but today they face threats from industrialization and habitat fragmentation. Melanie Kirby is a decades-long beekeeper, a scientist, a member of Tortugas Pueblo, and extension educator for the land-grant program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Her diverse background gives a perspective on bees and pollinators that brings together Western and indigenous perspectives, and that can help everyone from farmers to urban gardeners play a role in the revitalization of this keystone species. 

The suicide rate among farmers is alarmingly high—and yet there is widespread reluctance to talk about topics like depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. A new program called AgWell is helping farmers, ranchers, agriculture workers, and their families, get the help they need—and to learn how to help others in their community. We talk to Clinton Wilson, program director of AgWell, and Dan Waldvogle of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, which has been instrumental in founding the program. 

Isabelle Jenniches co-founder of the New Mexico Healthy Soil Working Group, and her mission for many years has been to create networks of organizations and individuals working together to advance soil health—and thereby improve the health of ecosystems, food, people, and climate. She brings a vision of healthy rangelands and croplands across the state, and land management drawing from both traditional and innovative practices. 

Executive Director of the Quivira Coalition meets with Toner Mitchell from Trout Unlimited to share stories from his time bringing together collaborative conservation projects from around the state.

In this episode we are joined by Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard from the State Land Office. She shares with us the challenges and joys in working with a wide variety of stakeholders--from lessees to government agencies to nonprofits. Interview by Arielle Quintana.

Steph Marie von Ancken speaks to Patricia on bringing diverse interests together to achieve a common goal: the conservation, restoration and protection of lands, water and wildlife. She is the Policy Associate at the Western Landowners Alliance.

Join co-host Arielle Quintana for a conversation with Sebastian Africano and Dr. Valerie Small about the work that the organization Trees, Water & People is doing in New Mexico!