Health & Wellness
With the weather giving us nice snow and rain moments the soil is getting hydrated. I am happy to help kick off a community opportunity in the area of gardening. Since the pandemic, Kateri Zuni and her staff with Center of Southwest Culture, Inc. has been reaching out to rural communities with gardening seeds and supplies. An opportunity for family time to try out your green thumb.
The goals of the program are to support the local food system and community in the areas of Health and access to traditional food practices, helping to keep costs down in the home, and the promotion family bonding. On top of all this, learning to relax with a new hobby is a healthy way to start off the New Year.
It works through active participation of past connections with families & recruitment of new ones to support access to the nutritious foods for women, children, & families. The organization offers education in workshop style outreach to talk about various topics such as soil preparation, basic irrigation set up, and plant compatibility. Your kit will consist of 20 ft. irrigation starter line, a hole punching tool, 20 drip emitters, landscape staples, a bag of soil, and a variety of seeds. Classes are online and can be accessed through You Tube once it is uploaded to the organization's feed.
A resource booklet will also be provided with the information from the online class. The booklet will show diagrams and give recommendations on gardening construction. Pay close attention to the section about plant compatibility, which ones support each others growth. If this is the first time you are gardening or are looking for ways to support past attempts this quality engagement will definitely help to improve your mental health as well as the quality of your life.
A desired outcome which would help to show sustainability through connecting in the community would be to develop a network of first time gardeners who learn and grow together. In Indigenous communities, the history of agriculture and methodology is encouraged so children will learn core values of ancestors before them. It is the hope our communities will learn to grow abundantly as they did thousands of years ago. The harmony of people can be restored through a shared constructiveness to the land and how we take care of Her because in the end She takes care of us.
Registration is now open. A QR code is provided on the flier at the top of the page in both Spanish and English for a quick survey which is the registration form itself. There will also be a link for participants to share photos, ask questions, and support each other for a successful harvest. All this can be accessed with your family participation with this FREE program. Contact Jose with any questions at 505-221-6602 or by email: jose@centerofsouthwestculture.org