Strategizing for COVID and Beyond: Virtual Conversations, Ecological Restoration, and Community Empowerment

Planting a tree seedling on Jemez Tribal lands (August 2020)

By Julie Liebenguth, National Program Intern

At TWP, we are committed to supporting tribal communities through the pandemic and are working hard to foster collective engagement across virtual platforms so that knowledge sharing can remain a crucial part of community-led empowerment.

In partnership with the Western Forestry and Conservation Association, Intertribal Nursery Council, and the U.S. Forest Service, TWP hosted a five-part webinar series earlier this fall to engage a range of indigenous voices in conversations about native food systems, ecologies, and cultural practices. In honor of Native American Heritage Month, TWP also co-sponsored a virtual event with the Intertribal Agriculture Council about the role of community-based, regenerative practices in strengthening sustainable foodscapes. You can view all the episodes for free here. 

In the coming months, TWP will continue developing new strategies – both on-the-ground and online – to support ecological restoration and community-based resilience amid shifting local and global contexts. 

Cultivating Engagement through Virtual Platforms 

Tribal partners in South Dakota delivering emergency food/water supplies to families in Pine Ridge struggling from shortages due to COVID-19 (April, 2020)

In the time of COVID, food sovereignty has become a key focal point for tribal communities. Through our five-part webinar series, experts in indigenous food systems shared their knowledge and skills with participants tuning in from various locations across the country. The virtual content was particularly designed to support indigenous communities to combat food insecurity by building or strengthening access to traditionally harvested foods, medicines, and plants. 

Topics addressed during the five interactive conversations ranged from the diversity of indigenous recipes, native seed collection, tribal nurseries, traditional agroforestry practices, and indigenous plant restoration.  

As tribal food systems are impacted by monoculture and climate change, each speaker emphasized the need to preserve biodiversity to recover ancestral practices and strengthen community and ecological health. Nurseries can jumpstart the process of healing and succession in damaged ecosystems while bringing communities together under “traditional learning environments,” said Jeremy Pinto, Research Plant Physiologist and Tribal Nursery Specialist for the USDA Forest Service, who also covered the ins and outs of nursery planning, implementation, and management.

Since building food sovereignty involves the recovery of both ecological and cultural knowledge, sharing histories and traditions tied to food is integral for re-establishing strong, indigenous food systems. As Chef Sean Sherman, founder of The Sioux Chef company, said, understanding the cultural diversity of ecoregions is important for indigenous communities because “these plants are part of our families. . . making us happy, making us healthy, giving us nourishment, and giving us stories.” Chef Sherman supports new generations of indigenous culinary programs under his non-profit, NĀTIFS.

Control over local production is also at the core of food sovereignty, and community-led governance keeps families and youth involved in creating sustainable food systems. In a separate event highlighting sustainable foodscapes, Kelsey Ducheneaux, a fourth-generation tribal rancher, shared her business model with viewers for re-localizing food systems. To help more communities strengthen local foodways, Ducheneaux detailed her experience combining regenerative knowledge and community-based collaboration to provide quality, grass-fed beef directly to local consumers. 

Looking Ahead 

As we approach 2021, TWP strives to provide more virtual learning opportunities for tribal communities adapting to COVID. We are currently transitioning our solar suitcase workshop to an online format so tribal youth can still access hands-on, uplifting, and empowering lessons that support youth-led agency over energy futures. 

TWP is also coordinating with The Nature Conservancy New Mexico Chapter, East Jemez Landscapes Futures and local organizations to implement new restoration project(s) on the headwaters and canyon bottoms of the Rio Grande River in the East Jemez Mountains, where water quality and ecological health is critical for many culturally diverse communities. 

Finally, in upholding TWP’s long-standing commitment to restorative conservation, we are excited to develop new opportunities that incorporate seed collection as a pivotal component for future restoration projects!

View all the episodes for free here. 

Finally Together Again

Silas Red Cloud leads the crew by creating a line for tree planters to follow. Photo by Evan Barrientos

by José Chalit Hernandez, Marketing Manager

Planting trees is about more than just planting trees. We hear this frequently from our partners. On Lakota Tribal Lands, planting trees is done with great care, intention, and gratitude. When asked about what makes Pine Ridge a special place for him, Chief Henry Red Cloud told us it was the beautiful country, the rolling hills and the animals. “It’s all here,” he mentioned as he spoke on the importance of honoring trees as relatives. 

After a year of managing the pandemic in their community, the Oglala Sioux Tribe was excited to join us and Red Cloud Renewable (RCR) last month by sending out a group of hard-working tree planters to join our spring planting. Thanks to all of the tree planters being vaccinated against Covid-19, TWP staff (who were also vaccinated) were able to join for the first time since 2019’s planting season to reconnect with old friends and meet new people. For five days, we planted trees alongside Lakota community members and visited former planting sites where we observed many healthy and robust ponderosa trees that were planted 5+ years ago. 

Tink and her son Ladon help arrange a tray of tree seedlings in the green house at RCR. Photo by Evan Barrientos

For many in the tree planting crew, the spring planting season presented a valuable opportunity to earn income, feel empowered and reconnect with others in the community after a long year of uncertainty and scarcity. Each day started bright and early with freshly made coffee and a hearty breakfast. During meals and between activities, the hired cook that supported the project, Tink, shared stories with us and the other tree planters about her time at Standing Rock supporting the NODAPL camp. Her son Ladon would run around the Sacred Earth Lodge at RCR with a big grin and greet us all in the morning and be there in the afternoon after returning from tree planting. For the first time in a long time, we felt deeply connected to our partner community. We felt incredibly grateful to join forces with this group of generous, resilient, and hard-working people. 

While in Pine Ridge, we also began filming the long-awaited short documentary about our reforestation efforts, thanks to another funding sponsor. As a supporter of our tribal reforestation programs, we want you to be among the first to gain exclusive access to this video content later this summer! See how below.

In New Mexico, our National Program staff are currently meeting with the Tri-Pueblo Coalition to finalize timelines and logistics for tree planting in the Jemez Mountains in the coming months. Tree planting in New Mexico will also be a unique opportunity as we enter our third year of partnership with Santo Domingo Pueblo and the second year with Cochiti and Jemez Pueblos. So many exciting things are on the horizon, and we can not wait to share more stories directly from our partners with you. Thank you for believing in and supporting Indigenous-led projects! 

Trees, Water & People receives another 4-star rating from Charity Navigator!

Sebastian Africano, Executive Director and Gemara Gifford, International Director pose with Doña Norma in front of a community-operated tree nursery in the community of La Tigra in Honduras.

For the third consecutive year we earned a coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, which demonstrates our strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. 

The devastating events of the past year and the economic hardship the world is facing have hit the non-profit sector hard, forcing our organization to adapt, re-think, strategize and get creative. Through it all, our donors have stuck with us, as we recognize that the communities we serve need us the most at this moment.

We have spent the last 23 years working and advocating for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, and have come to a crucial moment in which we need to step up in a big way. As we continue to work towards our goals during these trying times, being able to present our loyal donors with tangible and quantifiable results is crucial.  

In a letter to Trees, Water & People, Charity Navigator President Michael Thatcher wrote: “This is our highest possible rating and indicates that your organization adheres to sector best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way.” 

We are honored by this acknowledgement that we couldn’t achieve without our supporters, and thank you profusely for your trust in TWP. 

Check out our profile to learn more!

Charity Navigator has evaluated more than 160K U.S. based charities to highlight the work of efficient and transparent organizations and “show charitable givers / social investors how efficiently  a charity will use their support today, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time, and their level of commitment to good governance, best practices, and openness with information”.

Tribal Lands GIS Project

by Patricia Flores White, Development Director

The goal of the Tribal Lands GIS project is to create an engaging data-driven tool that cultivates buy-in supporting the work of Trees, Water & People’s Tribal program. The map series illustrates the inequity issues related to health, poverty and social vulnerability on Tribal lands. In particular, the data illustrates the disparity between urban hubs and rural communities.  We feel that these issues lie at the root causes of migration pressures, across the Americas, which are only growing in the face of climate change.

This map series has the capacity to serve and inform stakeholders as well as empower Native American peoples in their decision making and planning.  

Thanks to the collaboration with the CSU GeoCentroid Department we were able to develop these data visualization tools that illustrate the current day status of inequity in rural Tribal communities to potential change-makers. The series illustrated below was part of a map gallery display at the CSU Morgan Library for GIS Day, which brought together a consortium of experts in their fields spanning across a diversity of sectors. This project is an awesome example of how Geographic Information Systems help to cultivate a tangible understanding of large scale, complex issues.

Ponderosa Pine seedlings carried by local Lakota tree planter in Pine Ridge

“I wanted to work on this project because the problems that are happening on Native American reservations, such as environmental and social injustices, are becoming more and more relevant today.” – Riley Ross (GeoCentroid Intern)

Trees, Water & People has been working with climate-vulnerable populations in Central America and on U.S. Tribal Lands for over 20 years. Founded in Ft. Collins in 1998, TWP works in: Pine Ridge – South Dakota, White Earth – Minnesota, Santo Domingo Pueblo & Santa Fe Indian School – New Mexico.

 

Wander Without Waste

by Patricia Flores White, Development Director

By Carbon Offsetting through TWP, we will plant trees to reduce the carbon impact of your event!

Day breaks in Colorado and the Wanderlust Yoga Festival sets its last billowing aerial hammocks into place. It is a brisk and sunny Saturday morning and over 300 people begin to gather in the Great Lawn Park to practice as one to the groovy beats of DJ powered yoga flow. In these times when the very act of collaboration is a radical act, Yoga becomes the great unifying entity as we all move together in a slow and methodical rhythm, setting the pace of our hearts opening to what is possible.

Wanderlust Festival and Trees, Water & People have been working together since 2014 to reduce the festival’s carbon footprint while helping people and the planet. In that time, together, we’ve planted 55,791 trees in Central America with a specific intent of improving peoples’ livelihoods. To date Wanderlust Festival has banked a total of 13,948 metric tons of CO2e. Individual festival goers also have the option to offset their own carbon emissions footprint online.

Day 1 of Wanderlust 108 Denver! 

Our unique alliance allows us to invest in community-based carbon sequestration projects that tangibly improve life for people and the planet. Together, we are changing the lives of indigenous communities in Central America. The ‘green value’ added through carbon sequestration supports the festival’s Wander without Waste Movement and Certified B Corp. status.

Wanderlust Festival and Trees, Water & People have channeled the goodwill of the yoga community into projects that are creating positive change while encouraging environmentally conscious choices at festivals. Our alliance is an inspiring example of how businesses and nonprofits can work together to positively affect change both in and beyond our community.

To find out more about partnering with Trees, Water & People, please visit https://www.treeswaterpeople.org/partners.html

 

4 Generations of Tree Planting

4 Generations of Tree Planters!

10,000 SW Douglas Fir tree seedlings from the San Juan Mountains have gone into the ground near the Tent Rocks National Monument on Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo’s Tribal Lands; the 3,000 remaining seedlings were taken to the Santa Fe Indian School by Cochiti tribal members where they will be planted by students and community leaders on nearby public lands.

With the help of the Santo Domingo Pueblo War Chief and his lieutenant, we were able to recruit over 15 volunteers from the local tribe to gather last week to inaugurate and launch our first joint reforestation project! As we’ve reported previously, the “Las Conchas” forest fire of 2011 devastated the highlands of the Pueblo community where Douglas Fir trees used for traditional ceremonial and conservation purposes were burned en masse. Trees, Water & People’s collaboration with the Kewa Pueblo is a one of a kind reforestation program that marries indigenous traditions and customs with climate resilience strategies of the West.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Training the volunteers on the basics

After delivering the seedlings to the Pueblo’s greenhouse last Tuesday, we settled into a meeting at the Governor’s office where strategy, timeline, and scope of the project were revisited one final time. We originally planned to start planting on Wednesday, but due to heavy rains, the War Chief and his staff decided to hold off one more day for the climate to dry. Nevertheless, rain is a significant blessing and element for many Pueblo communities – the timing of our delivery of the seedlings felt more than apt. Thursday morning, we embarked to the planting site on top of the mountain in a line of 4WD trucks carrying just under 900 seedlings.

Rocky road conditions aside, we arrived at the site just shy of the morning breeze and kicked off the day with a prayer from the War Chief himself and a short, hands-on training on our methods and strategy. Unlike ponderosa pines, we learned from the New Mexico State Forestry Division that Douglas Fir seedlings like to be planted in cluster patterns of about 25 seedlings spread 2-3 feet from each other; this is a term called “nucleation”. The volunteer crew was quick to learn, and everyone was happy to teach one another, even in their native language.

Most impressive of all – beyond any technical achievements or success – is the multi-generational impact and participation that a project like this generates. We remember the recurring sentiment expressed by the War Chief and other elders in the community throughout the day:

“We may not be around here long enough to see these trees mature, but it’s important we have our youth here to experience it and participate in the work themselves as they are the future stewards of these lands”. 

At every stage of sustainable development, TWP’s core mission has always been to empower local people to manage the natural resources they depend on, and we believe this happens best at the participatory level. The local tribe thanks you for your donations and commitment to the well-being of their community and their land – your dedication is what helps climate vulnerable communities continue to be resilient and powerful amidst our changing environment.

To learn more about how you can support our reforestation program on Tribal Lands, visit – https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/indigenous-west-reforestation/

Swinging into the ground to make room for a seedling

Graduating TWP’s Solar Suitcase Training

By José Chalit, Marketing Manager

Earlier this summer, Trees, Water & People facilitated a 3-day long Suitcase workshop at the Pine Point School in Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation in partnership with Winona LaDuke’s non-profit Honor The Earth. In addition to educating 8 students, 2 science teachers and the school principal on the basis of solar energy, our National team also implemented activities from the National Indian Youth Leadership Project (NIYLP), aimed at boosting self-esteem and social-emotional development through hands-on learning.

Student from Pine Point School holding a HELIO light

Upon completion of the solar suitcase workshop, students and teachers also received HELIO “lights”, a portable, solar-powered charger and flashlight created by Makers4Good, as a token of graduation and achievement of the solar curriculum.

Rebecca Geraldi, Giving Coordinator of Makers4Good recently told us:

When Makers4Good first learned about Trees, Water, & People, and for all they strive, we made a concerted effort to find a way to help support those efforts.

Our solar-powered light and power bank, HELIO, is a wonderful companion to the solar suitcases distributed by Trees, Water & People to U.S. Tribal Lands. HELIO provides personal and portable light and power that can be used by the same community members, on an individual basis. HELIO can charge phones and light the night, helping to keep people connected, productive, and safe.

This meaningful outcome strongly supports Makers4Good’s overriding social good mission, and we are delighted to partner with Trees, Water, & People. Together, we are brightening the lives of others — all with the power of the sun and the shared common aim of making a difference.” – Rebecca Geraldi, Giving Coordinator, Makers4Good

And, for a limited time, Rebecca’s team is offering you 20% off their HELIO light by entering the discount code “TWP19” at checkout here: https://helio.energy/buy-now

The lights are on!

As we expand our solar suitcase trainings to other tribal communities aiming to reclaim control of their natural resources and improve their communities, we hope that graduates of the program can utilize HELIO in practical and educational scenarios.

Thank you, Makers4Good, for your commitment to social good and environmental sustainability – collaboration from organizations like yours is indispensable in the process of creating positive change!

 

Graduates of 2019 Solar Suitcase Program at Pine Point School!

 

Summer Farm Dinner Round 2!

by Patricia Flores White, Development Director

‘The Heart of Summer’ dinner brings together 160 people to celebrate community while cultivating a unique intersect between business and purpose, all set on the backdrop of the MotherLove 120 acre organic farm in Johnstown, CO. Fortified Collaborations works with the highest quality local food producers and businesses to create one of a kind pop-up dinners. These beautifully orchestrated events benefit non-profit organizations in town that have the power to affect change both in and beyond our community. They also serve as ‘community raisers’, bringing people together to experience thoughtful food, well considered concoctions, and purpose.

Tickets can be purchased at https://fortifiedcollaborations.ticketleap.com/heart-of-summer-dinner-2019/

 

This year, Verboten Brewery and Chef Rhys Edmunds have infused the menu, not only with our local foods provided by Colorado Stock and Grain and Motherlove, but with the addition of uniquely flavored honey and coffee from TWP’s programs in Guatemala.

Sampling TWP Approved Honey to infuse in flavors featured this Sunday!

 

“The Heart of Summer dinner is such a great example of our local food ecosystems at work and Trees, Water, People really embody the importance of that through their work. They are the perfect beneficiary for this event that connects people to the land.” – Kristina Cash, Fortified Collaborations founder.

“By introducing our Guatemalan communities to the climate-resilient practice of beekeeping, and training them to process and market honey, we will help them improve their livelihoods, reduce migration pressure, protect a threatened species of pollinator, and improve forest health.”
— Gemara Gifford, TWP International Director

Beekeepers from our partner community of La Bendición in Guatemala

If you haven’t been a part of their culinary adventures, visit https://www.fortifiedcollaborations.com/ to register while tickets are still available.

Vanilla and Turmeric – Job Creation in Nicaragua

First turmeric harvest of 2019!

Smallholder livelihoods across Central America are threatened by extreme weather, warmer average temperatures, and a longer dry season related to climate change.

Many of the smallholder farmers we work with in Central America depend on coffee for a major share of their income, but with prices at 15-year lows, coffee is currently being harvested at a loss and rural incomes have plummeted. That is why Trees, Water & People is happy to introduce our partnership with “Doselva”, a Nicaraguan social enterprise that grows, processes, and markets spices organically grown in diverse agroforestry systems.

 

Vanilla Pompona fruit

Nicaraguan farmer

Nicaraguan farmer

Our collaboration with Doselva primarily focuses on helping farmers transition away from low-paying cash crops by diversifying into turmeric, ginger, and vanilla. These spices are currently in high demand and serve as “a useful diversification strategy that can both improve incomes and also maintain or enhance a biodiverse and forested farming landscape” (Doselva). Vanilla’s origins are in Mesoamerica, and it grows in similar conditions to shade-grown coffee, but currently, less than 2% of the world’s supply comes from the region. As it takes 3-4 years to produce in earnest, turmeric, ginger, and other ground-cover crops help farmers buffer their income as they diversify their farms.

Laying out the harvest before packaging it

So far, Doselva has collected 5,186 hundredweight sacks of turmeric from 49 farmers from various regions in Nicaragua, and thousands of vanilla flowers have already bloomed with hopes of a full harvest being available in 2020-2021. In a year when Nicaragua saw the loss of over 200,000 jobs and the closure of hundreds of businesses and nonprofit organizations due to civil conflict, we are proud to say that we are helping farmers thrive with innovative partnerships that build sustainable rural economies.

If you’re interested in learning more about social enterprise projects like Doselva, please visit our website or contact our Executive Director at sebastian@treeswaterpeople.org

Welcoming New Leadership to the Tribal Program

As the storms and flood events in the Midwest this past winter and spring demonstrate, extreme weather events spurred by climate change are becoming the new normal. Often, those hardest hit are the most vulnerable, and their communities often lack comprehensive adaptation strategies to prepare for these shifts.

For that reason, we’re proud to welcome two talented Colorado State University (CSU) alumni to Trees, Water & People (TWP) who bring deep, personal experience in helping Native American communities thrive culturally, economically, and ecologically.

Dr. Valerie Small joins us as TWP’s new National Program Director, bringing several years of experience working with Tribal colleges and communities on climate adaptation strategies. She comes to us from the Crow Tribe in southern Montana and is excited to help us think bigger about climate readiness for indigenous communities across the Americas.

Dr. Valerie Small Ph.D. and James Calabaza at our office

 

James Calabaza came to us from the family farm where he grew up in Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo, New Mexico and a position with the USDA in Albuquerque, where he worked in farm loan management. His vast background in counseling Native youth in both academic and community settings will help him lead TWP’s in-field operations and educational programs as our National Program Coordinator.

 

James and local Lakota tree planter during Pine Ridge reforestation

 

Our schedule for the National Program over the next six months is packed with new projects, new partnerships, and long-term visioning for TWP’s next 20 years. We know that to achieve great things, we have to make great investments in our organization, and we’re betting that these talented individuals will help us all do our best work yet for people and planet.

Please help us welcome Valerie and James to the TWP family!