The summer Youth Conservation Crew (YCC) offered by Aldo Leopold Charter School (ALCS) provided paid internship positions for eighty-six area youth. This summer the YCC crews include the following: trail building and reconstruction, eco-monitoring, garden crew, and mural design and installation.
Top: Parker Cox. Mid-section: JB Bjornstad, Addison Pearson, Brayon Garcia, Colin Casler, Ava Bjornstad, Kojun Iwaasa, Bastian Martinez, Kaitlyn Arroyo, Yesenia Arriaga. Bottom: Xavier CastilloUnder the direction of Jon Bjornstad, one trail crew built a new path connecting the historic Waterworks site to Silva Creek Botanical gardens. The crew navigated some steep terrain by building a series of switchbacks to create a gentle transition to the Silva creek bed creating access from either side of the creek. Crew members engaged in the engineering and installation of the trail which involved drystacking several large boulders and back filling with soil. Bjornstad brings 20 years of trail building experience for the US Forest Service and Youth Conservation Corps.
Toxtli Sanchez, Vicente Portillo, Roxie the dog, Axan SanchezLocal craftsman Toxtli Sanchez headed up a second crew creating a trail that connects Ritch Hall with the Martinez building on the Western New Mexico University campus. Crew members learned to cut trail, create water bars and other erosion mitigation structures, riprap, and finally cap the trail. Sanchez brings over 20 years of experience with drystack masonry to the project and his trusty dog Roxie to keep up the crew’s spirit.
Matthew Varela, Jacob Halbison, Vicente Portillo, Crew leader Jose Loya, Axan Sanchez, Michael Marriage, Carina Frisch, Toxtli Sanchez, Alan ChaviraSanchez and Bjornstad rounded out the trail crew experience with a trip to the Catwalk Recreation Area near Glenwood to showcase various features of trail building, cool off in the creek, and discuss careers with the US Forest Service and how to become an independent contractor.
Top: Aaron Ashburn, Eleo Warner. Middle: Mia Riley, Alicia Martinez, Miceala Roacho, Junior Casaus, Deidranee Abeyta, Makayla Jaurequi, Dominic Rasmussen, Jess De Moss, Emma Blanco, Micah Jo Huerta, Makiah Granadino. Front: Mauri Nelson, Bodhi Baker. Not Pictured: Katrina Estrada, Mia Estrada, Diana Ingalls, Dara Werner-RaiterArtist Diana Ingalls, ALCS alumna Katrina Estrada, and Jess DeMoss teamed up with the Youth Mural Project and the Town of Silver City to complete a water themed mural at Lion’s Park located in the Big Ditch next to the Main Street Plaza. Ingalls has worked on murals in our community since 2003. She has received support from Mimbres Region Arts Council, Youth Conservation Corps, Comcast, Lineberry Foundation, Falling Colors, National Endowment for the Arts, and New Mexico Arts and Local donors include Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and Syzygy Tile. On Tuesday, June 14 at 3:30 PM Ingalls looks forward to hosting a dedication for the Dia de Los Muertos mural located on the west side of the Silver City Museum.
Pictured Charley Finley and Crew leader Molly Pendleton. Not pictured: Savannah Egge, Joshua Estrada, Aidan Finley, Angelio Martinez-Muniz, Maya Reeves, Willow Sprague-Robinson, Jessi Crocker, Ethan Hemphill, Aidan McDaniel, Minerva Metcalfe, Jade Myers, Sylvia Myers, Joshua Riggs, Sonny SherwoodThe eco-monitoring crew, under the direction of conservation biologist Mike Fugagli, and conservation organizer and educator Carol Ann Fugagli has been busy banding birds, mapping songbird territory in riparian habitats along the Gila River, and water quality monitoring the Iron Creek Bridge Preserve, Mogollon Box, and the forks of the Gila River. Carol Ann’s crew specifically monitors swallow populations that make their homes and breed during the summer months in a number of urban environments.
The summer garden crews under the direction of Lone Mountain Natives co-owner Tricia Hurley concentrated on three sites during the summer season. ALCS math teacher Matthew Gruszka teamed up with swnmACT Project Coordinator Bridgette Johns to implement a portion of the gardens designed for the historic Waterworks site. This is the future site of a waystation for Continental Divide Trail through hikers and a destination for visitors and residents to learn about native plants and the role of the Waterworks site in the development of Silver City.
Top: Parker Cox. Mid-section: JB Bjornstad, Addison Pearson, Brayon Garcia, Colin Casler, Ava Bjornstad, Kojun Iwaasa, Bastian Martinez, Kaitlyn Arroyo, Yesenia Arriaga. Bottom: Xavier CastilloA second garden crew headed by ALCS Special Education teacher Nathan Shay was located at Ritch Hall on the WNMU campus. This crew worked to plant the tiered garden beds built by last year’s trail crew. Crew members learned how to create healthy soil, plant native plants and trees, and install a water-efficient irrigation system.
The third crew worked directly with Tricia Hurley near the Kelly Street entrance to Big Ditch Park to continue a multi-agency effort to beautify this area of downtown. Hurley has successfully partnered with Allyson Siwik of the Gila Resources Information Project funded by the 30 something grant, the ALCS YCC Trails Crew, and the Town of Silver City to transform the Big Ditch into a native plant oasis.