The New Earth Project: Creating Climate Solutions and Empowering Youth

Category: Community News Community News
Published: 20 March 2023 20 March 2023

Photos Courtesy of The New Earth Project:

The New Earth Project The New Earth Project The New Earth Project The New Earth Project

The New Earth Project

Creating Climate Solutions and Empowering Youth

 The New Earth Project is a community program based in Silver City, New Mexico focusing on:       

● Food security
● Soil improvement
● Carbon sequestration
● Food waste reduction
● Education
● Youth employment

We are addressing urgent environmental issues by using regenerative and restorative practices that revitalize agricultural soils and reduce atmospheric carbon through managing soil biology. We also focus on educating, inspiring, and empowering youth in our community through educational activities and employment opportunities.

OUR HISTORY:

This project is a direct result of the 2021 Silver City Climathon hosted by the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance (UGWA), in which residents brainstormed ways to initiate widespread composting in the Silver City region. UGWA then submitted a grant to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation for funding from a program called Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience that seeks to support environmental justice by empowering communities to search for solutions from environmental and human health vulnerabilities including those caused by climate related impacts.

The resulting project was one of only 5 proposals funded in this country and one of 15 in North America out of almost 400 applicants!

TODAY (after only one year):

  • We collect food surplus from three school cafeterias and combine it with woody biomass, agricultural byproducts, and biochar, to put in Johnson-Su bioreactors. We currently divert approximately 1100 pounds of food waste from the local landfill every week!
  • We are constructing dozens of Johnson-Su compost bioreactors at Gila WoodNet in Santa Clara, NM. These are static composting systems that produce a fungal dominant compost that restores soil with living microorganisms.
  • We host Climathons for 4th and 5th grade students. During these half-day Climathons, students learn about climate change, build boxes for vermicomposting in their classrooms, and make posters and videos promoting the benefits of composting.

You can watch the Climathon highlights using the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIGOYqbGWRU

  • We conduct monthly classroom activities with students from participating schools to demonstrate the impacts of soil regenerative processes, including vermiculture, how compost and biochar affect seed growth, and the importance of native plants to this region.
  • We host a monthly radio show on our community radio station, KURU 89.1 FM. New Earth Kids features youth of all ages who talk about the challenges facing our planet and how they are creating and implementing solutions. Listeners can access archived shows at the links below:

https://gmcr.org/new-earth-kids-cliff-elementary-5th-grade-murals/
https://gmcr.org/new-earth-kids-alhs-9th-grade-environmental-science/
https://gmcr.org/new-earth-kids-alhs-eco-monitors/
https://gmcr.org/new-earth-kids-climathons/

  • We employ young people and provide meaningful jobs that increase their skills and understanding of our changing environment.
  • As part of our community outreach initiative, we have:
    - hosted two free community workshops in which participants could build and fill Johnson-Su bioreactors.
    - arranged to sponsor a series of free soil science classes that focus on ecological connections and land stewardship.
    - provided a holiday tree chipping service for residents.
  • We have strong alliances with the Gila National Forest Supervisor, Grant County Commissioners, Town of Silver City Council members, and a myriad of community-based food security organizations.

OUR FUTURE:

- Expand our food waste-collection independence to more schools in our region by providing countertop composting stations in cafeterias.

- Continue to construct and fill the Johnson-Su bioreactors at least once/week

- Create satellite Johnson-Su bioreactor filling stations in surrounding rural communities so they can collect and compost their school cafeteria waste along with woody and agricultural waste.

- Expand our youth employment opportunities and base by reaching out to university students and providing more internships for high school students.

- Expand our educational program to include additional schools in Grant County.

- Reach out to other communities in New Mexico and beyond who may want to use our program as a template for large-scale community-based composting in their communities.

- Host additional community workshops to teach about the various methods of composting including backyard composting.

- Share our fungal-dominated compost extracts with local farmers, gardeners, schools, and community gardens to help rehabilitate their soils, increase their yields, and create topsoil.

- Make our compost and extracts available for sale in wider markets to benefit farmers in other regions and financially sustain our program.

- Provide a quarterly chipping service for residents using the Grant County chipper.

- Provide a service in which we pick up green waste and yard debris to be composted in bioreactors.

If you have any questions, are interested in learning more about our program, or want to get involved, please contact us at:

Education@ugwa.org

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.