Connect with an Acequia Farmer on April 28th, plus Access Acequia Worksheets and Even Seeds!

"New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA) is offering a selection of fun and educational acequia learning worksheets to support this amazing opportunity to talk more with children about our family traditions and knowledge around the acequias, farming and gardening, and taking care of the water, seeds, animals, orchards, and land.  Download, view, and print PDF's below (also available on NMAA blog) and check back regularly for additional activities in the coming weeks.

• A Letter To Students & Families
• Acequia Treasure Hunt
• Acequia Matching Word Activity
• Acequia Storytelling/Interview Activity
• Celebrating Acequia Culture Through Poetry - for middle/high school youth
• Mayordoma Coloring & Word Search Activity - courtesy of the Manitos Community Memory Project
• Suggested Reading on New Mexico's Acequias
• Sembrando Semillas - Somos Gente de la Tierra Coloring Page 

Email emily@lasacequias.org or call (505) 995-9644 to ask for help in printing worksheets and sending worksheets by mail.  If you work with a school or youth program, and plan to share these activities with your students, please email us at emily@lasacequias.org so we can keep a record of where these materials are being used.

As the covid-19 health crisis has made clear - our acequias and food traditions have never been more important. Generations who came before us kept our acequias flowing, cared for the land and water, and saved seeds. As we prepare for a profound transformation of our economies, educational systems, and communities, we will continue to be vigilant in protecting our water, acequias, and farmland and we will work the land to grow food for our communities.  Toward that vision, NMAA is sharing seeds to support you in planting your gardens. Seeds carry ancestral memory and they also carry our potential for the future. By sharing and growing seeds, we are shaping the future for our children and grandchildren, and also taking practical action to ensure health, food access and food security for our communities."

Now is the time to plant seeds!!  NMAA is providing seeds of different vegetables and traditional crops for anyone who needs seed for their farm or garden this season. If you are in need of seed and have not yet made your request, please do so soon so we can get your package on the way to you! To make a request, fill out the online form here -  OR call our office at (505) 995-9644 and leave a voicemail. 

Share pictures of your seeds and plants:
- By email to donne@lasacequias.org
- Add a comment on the Semillas pa la Gente blog on our website lasacequias.org
- Post on Facebook & tag @New Mexico Acequia Association
- Use hashtag #SemillasPaLaGente on Instagram & Facebook

Gente de la Tierra - Siembren sus jardines! People of the land - plant your gardens! 
Join a LIVE plática, via an online gathering, to learn and share knowledge about our gardens. You will have an opportunity to 'Ask an Acequia Farmer' and share your stories and experiences about planting. This is the first in a series of gatherings for the 2020 growing season.  Everyone with all levels of gardening and farming skills are welcome and encouraged to participate, as we keep building our local food sovereignty one garden at a time!

Thursday, April 30, 2020 - 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Connect by Zoom or Phone (see directions below)
Our first call will feature two beloved maestros to answer questions and share their wisdom - 
Lorenzo Candelaria (Cornelio Candelaria Organics) and Donne Gonzales (Chicoyole Farm).
 Both are mentors with NMAA's Sembrando Semillas program. 
We will also have acompanamiento de música with David Garcia. 
Please click here to register. 
You can also use this form to send us questions in advance.

HOW TO USE 'ZOOM':
Option A - Connect from your computer or smart phone internet:

• Download Zoom (free) - https://zoom.us/download -*We advise that you download the program in advance of the meeting so you are not delayed in being able to connect.
• Click here to join the call - https://zoom.us/j/93933588003
• As the program opens, a box will pop up on your screen asking if it is okay to launch Zoom - click 'yes' - and then click 'join audio conference by computer'.
• Once you are on the call - you can choose to turn your video on or off using buttons in the lower left side of the screen. You can also mute and unmute yourself by clicking the small microphone icon.

Option B - Call in from your phone:

• Dial: 1-301-715-8592
• Enter the 'Meeting ID': 939 3358 8003
• We will ask everyone to mute themselves so we can hear the speaker clearly and limit background noise. To mute yourself on a landline - press *6 - then press it again to unmute yourself.

If you have any technical problems or questions about how to use Zoom - email - emily@lasacequias.org

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