Photo of Ivy at work on the New Earth Project Photo credit: Ivy Stephens-Etheridge Presentation by Ivy Stephens-Etheridge
For its evening program this month (Friday, March 20, 2026, at 7:00 pm), the Gila Native Plant Society has invited Ivy Stephens-Etheridge, a Youth Civic Infrastructure Intern with the New Earth Project, to give a presentation on her experience. The Upper Gila Watershed Alliance's New Earth Project uses Johnson-Su bioreactors to turn waste into compost containing living micro-organisms. Ivy will describe local agricultural use of the New Earth Project's living earth and regenerative practice. She will also share what she has learned about liquid carbon vs. degradation pathways, the rhizophagy cycle, the principles of regenerative agriculture, and how and why microbes increase plant nutrition.
Ivy Stephens-Etheridge is a high school senior at Aldo Leopold Charter School, and a Youth Civic Infrastructure Intern with the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance (UGWA), an internship funded by Future Focused Education. She has been working with Mike and Carol Ann Fugagli on a project promoting local agricultural use of the New Earth Project's living earth and regenerative practices. Last semester, Ivy took a microbiology class at Western, which piqued her interest in soil microbes. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dog and doing ballet.
The program will be hybrid – in person and via Zoom – on Friday, March 20th, at 7:00 pm. All are welcome. It will be live on the WNMU campus in Harlan Hall, Room 111. (Harlan Hall is at the corner of 12th and Alabama Streets in Silver City.) Those who prefer to attend online may request a Zoom link from
The Gila Native Plant Society is committed to promoting education, research and appreciation of the native flora of the Southwest; encouraging the preservation of rare and endangered plant species; and supporting the use of suitable native plants in landscaping. For information on programs, publications and membership, please visit www.gilanps.org.
