Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance
Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance
Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance (HPWA) works to protect and restore the ecological and cultural heritage of watersheds in the Hermit’s Peak region through ecological restoration, environmental education, and community action. We envision a community that works together to care for the land and water that sustain us. We help care for the land and water by matching landowners to experts, funding, and education. We work with land managers, government agencies, and communities to restore watershed health.
After the Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon Fire, HPWA has been focused on restoring our watersheds so they can continue to support us. Over the past two years, we have trained and employed 28 young people and adults who are using traditional knowledge and modern science to address post-fire damage. Together we’ve worked on 40 properties, built 873 restoration structures, and planted over 10,000 seedlings in the Upper Gallinas and Sapello Watersheds. Our efforts mitigate flooding, restore vegetation, and stabilize soils, helping the land heal for the long term.
With funding received from the Santa Fe Community Foundation in 2024, HPWA was able to work with elementary and middle school students from Rio Gallinas School of Ecology and the Arts. We visited the charter school to give a presentation about our organization and work we are doing. They learned about watersheds and the importance of vegetation on the landscape, then completed a watershed building activity. After the classroom session, HPWA took the students to the Rio Mora Wildlife Refuge to assist with watershed restoration. Students learned about riparian grasses, and planted both sedges and rushes where restoration activities had disturbed the soil.
“Our collaboration with the Hermit's Peak Watershed Alliance gave our students both valuable knowledge and hands-on learning that taught them how to become stewards of the land. After the Hermit's Peak Calf Canyon fire the need to teach our youth how to protect our lands has become crucial.” - Aja Curry Principal at Rio Gallinas School of Ecology and the Arts.
Learn more about Hermit's Peak Watershed Alliance through this video produced in celebration of their Visionary award at the 2021 Piñon Awards.
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The Santa Fe Community Foundation invited its nonprofit grantees to submit stories related to our April topic of Environment.
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