Photos and article by Lynn Janes

On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, Aldo Leopold held a showcase for all their students participating in various internships. The event took place at the school location on the WNMU campus in Ritch Hall located at 410 W. 10th Street. 

Aldo Leopold started with the premise that many students learn best by doing and having direct experience. The school developed out of the community wanting to provide a choice to the area’s students. The mission statement of the school, the human and natural environments serve as a text and lab for learning through direct experience, inquiry, and stewardship. 

The school also had three programs with the Youth Conservation Corp (YCC). YCC started during the depression in 1933 as a voluntary program. At that time the name had been Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The three programs run locally included the garden crew, mural crew, and Eco monitoring crew. Each one prepared a slide presentation of what they had done and how it had enriched them. 

Each crew worked with what they called the four Cs. Each presentation they addressed the ways this had been used. The four Cs stood for Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity. 

Eco-monitoring Crew, from left, are Aidan Finley-crew leader, Bodhi Baker, Bethany Jabs, Ethan Hemphill, Kevin Peterson, Kojun Iwaasa, Morgan Chaney, Joshua Estrada, Maya ReevesMike Fugagli served as the mentor and leader of the eco-monitoring crew. The students all commented on how much they enjoyed the projects they had done. They also said he helped them view the world through an ecological lens and what land health meant. The crew had several projects they worked on. 

With the help and funding through GRIP (Gila Information Resources Project) the students worked on the restoration of San Vicente Creek. They removed nonnative trees and replanted with native trees and shrubs. At the same time the students removed any fuel hazards. 

The crew worked on learning to compost using a barrel, food waste from some schools and dead plant matter. In the end they had soil ready to use for planting. 

Another project they had worked on took place at the Iron Bridge near Cliff. They had seen the area before and after the significant flood and saw the changes. Part of this project had to do with bird banding. They caught the birds in nets and banded them. They also recorded the species, health, etc. of the bird. 

Garden Crew, from left, are Patricia Hurley, Sonata Baca, Junior Casaus, Rachel Gulica, Angelica Sosoya, Josephine Khera, Zoe Pitts, Perisha Rodriquez.

Patricia Hurley, owner of Lone Mountain Nature Nursery, served as the leader and mentor of the garden crew. Each student had said they learned a lot from Hurley’s help. They had learned about pollination, garden maintenance and plant identification. Along with being able to identify plants they had learned what plants grew best in what environment.  

This crew had worked on several projects. They had worked at Harrison Schmidt School, the side area of Aldo Leopold School, Waterworks building, Big Ditch area and Silva Creek. Hurley taught them to plant milkweed to attract and feed the monarch butterflies. 

Mural Crew, on the floor, from left are Meliani Diaz, Machi Grandino, Deidranee Abeyta, Yvonne Martinez, and on the back row are Isaac Younger, Kee Glover, Damien Montez, Sebi Castello, Emma Blanco, Izzy Floyd

Diana Ingalls Leyba, owner of Leyba and Ingalls Art, served as mentor and leader of the mural crew. The students all said they had really learned a lot from her and enjoyed the experience. 

The mural crew, as said by the students, gets to beautify the town. They work with the Youth Mural Project and the town of Silver City on their projects. The projects they had worked on was a mural at the Lions Park in the Big Ditch just below the Lions meeting hall and the Child Development Center at WNMU (Western New Mexico University).

The students gave a diverse reason for enjoying the crew. Some of the comments they made had been enjoying the different mediums used, environment, new skills, just loved doing art. One of them said it had pushed them out of their comfort zone because they had never done any art. 

Included in the presentations each senior student gave a presentation on what plans they had after graduation. This presentation included their research on the career, interview with someone in that career, expected salary, training needed, and a book read on that career. The careers chosen by the students had a diverse look. Some chosen included chemical engineer, wildland firefighter, veterinarian, geologist, etc. Some had wanted a gap year before starting their training.