Empower Change: Water CAN'T Wait 🌊
As the sun graced us with its warm embrace and nature bursts forth in all its splendor, we are thrilled to bring you the latest updates and insights on our conservation efforts. Summer is a season of growth, and it's the perfect time to celebrate the beauty of our environment while renewing our commitment to its protection.
Nuestra Tierra Floats the River
To kick off Latino Conservation Week Nuestra Tierra co-hosted a community floating event down the Río Grande along with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors.
Dozens of community members from all over New Mexico, West Texas, and even Colorado, traveled to Las Cruces to participate in sharing memories, eating good food, and flowing down the river together.
This event was a collective reminder that !Agua es vida! and that it is essential to protect New Mexico’s water for generations to come. Seeing our community coming together to celebrate the Rio Grande and raise awareness about the importance of water conservation was a highlight of our Latino Conservation Week efforts.
Albuquerque Encuentro with Green Latinos
After floating down the river, Nuestra Tierra traveled up to northern New Mexico to co-host the Albuquerque Community Encuentro with Green Latinos.
This encuentro allowed us to continue fostering connections with environmental leaders in the state. Sharing a meal, exchanging ideas, and listening to the stories and insights of environmental leaders doing on-the-ground work. This is what will make New Mexico’s environmental movement stronger and more unified.
BLM Oil & Gas Session
The Bureau of Land Management hosted a public meeting on the proposed oil and gas leasing rule in Albuquerque to share how these reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing program can reap benefits for New Mexico communities and public lands.
Nuestra Tierra and local partners demonstrate a commitment to protecting New Mexico's cultural resources, wildlife, and public lands. These reforms are important not only for environmental conservation but also for ensuring that oil and gas leasing companies take financial responsibilities associated with their operations, rather than burdening New Mexico taxpayers.
This is a positive step towards achieving a balanced and sustainable approach to energy development and land conservation in New Mexico.
Staff Retreat
Nuestra Tierra’s staff convened in Silver City to strategize! The Gila National Forest and Gila Cliff Dwellings provided the space to reconnect with nature as a team and remind ourselves of why we do this work. Preserving not only natural landscapes, but also cultural and historic places is a key to the people-centered conservation movement we are trying to build and taking some time to appreciate the region’s rich history was a perfect reminder of that.
DC Hill Briefing on Hispanic Heritage Month
Alongside Green Latinos and the Office of New Mexico Representative Gabe Vasquez, Nuestra Tierra team members traveled to Washington D.C. During this fly-in, our team strategically engaged with the Council on Environmental Quality, the Department of the Interior, and various members of Congress to advocate for the America the Beautiful initiative, and also climate and energy justice for our lower income and underrepresented communities.
This kind of advocacy work is part of our ongoing efforts to enact federal level change for low-income communities of color.
Exploring our Heritage Hike
Back home, Nuestra Tierra’s board member, Krystyna, guided a community hike in Slot Canyon! This geologic treasure just outside Las Cruces was the perfect place to reflect on the innumerable cultural, historical, and environmental issues within the Hispanic/Latinx community.
This community event was a way to foster deeper connections with the natural world around us, while embodying diversity, inclusivity, and environmental stewardship in the outdoors.
National Conferences
Nuestra Tierra had several valuable opportunities to build bridges with other organizations across the country leading on environmental, climate, and conservation-related projects.
We got to attend the Green Latinos Summit, and build on our advocacy skills to learn about decolonizing wilderness. We also had the opportunity to deepen our relationship with other organizations in New Mexico and explore how we can build together through attending the N2 Grantee Convening. Our Executive Director, Angel Pena, was a keynote speaker for the Outdoor Economy Conference and discussed topics like equity, sustainability, accessibility, funding, and inclusivity which is crucial, especially in the conservation field. Finally, Nuestra Tierra attended the Protect Our Winters Leadership Conference, to join others in raising awareness and taking actionable steps towards addressing climate change.
New Mexico Legislative Session
Nuestra Tierra was proud to share a recap of our floating community event with members of the state Water & Natural Resources Committee during their meeting in Las Cruces. During Hispanic Heritage Month, we brought attention to the water crisis in New Mexico by encouraging our elected officials to prioritize water issues and conservation in our state. Agua es vida for the communities of Southern New Mexico and as water supplies continue to diminish in these ever changing times, it is essential that our water is preserved for all.
