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

Photos Courtesy of 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):

You can watch the Climathon highlights using the link below:

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

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/

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