2023-01-30
Chelenzo Farms Awarded Scholarship
to attend
2023 National Native Seed Conference 

January 30, 2023

Chelenzo Farms Award attend Scholarship to attend
2023 National Native Seed Conference 

We are excited to announce that we have been awarded a scholarship to attend the National Native Seed Conference this year. This year's theme is Cultivating the Restoration Supply Chain.

The National Native Seed Conference connects Research, Industry, Land Management, and Restoration professionals, providing the premier opportunity to develop relationships and share information about the collection, research and development, production, and use of native plant materials.

The 2023 National Native Seed Conference is dedicated to the science, practice, and policy of producing and effectively using native seed. The conference supports the America the Beautiful Executive Order, National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Click here for more information on the conference.

Participation in this important event will help support our own effort to host a Native Seed Symposium in early April.  Following is a working outline of the day. If you interested in participating as a workshop leader or learner, please contact Lorenzo at lorenzo@chelenzofarms.com .

2023 Native Plant Roundtable and Field Day at Chelenzo Farms

Proposed Date:  Second/Third weekend of April, 2023 

At Hacienda Dominguez & Chelenzo Farms: 48B Rainbows End, Cerrillos, 87010

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Roundtable Discussion indoors about everything Native Seed 

12:00-1:00 PM Salad bar lunch provided Chelenzo Farms 

1:00 - 4:30 PM Field Day identifying plants

At 36 Horny Toad Road (4 minute drive from 48B)

4:30-6:00 PM Potluck Dinner

6:00 PM Screening of The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

Overview

We would like to continually expand upon our ecosystem restoration efforts at Chelenzo Farms by better understanding the plants we have on our land and what we can do to support seed conservation, as well as help supply ecologically appropriate seed for southwestern ecosystem restoration initiatives.

We have hosted a number of workshops already, which you can check out here. A Native Plant Discovery Workshop would bring together a half dozen experts and 12-24 participants.

Primary Objective

Educate agricultural, ecological and conservation stakeholders and producers in NM on how to identify and cultivate native plants and increase awareness about their role and benefits in regenerative agriculture, ecosystem restoration and permaculture/polyculture development.

Issues to discuss at roundtable

• How to identify and differentiate?

• What are the plants practical, food, agricultural, medicinal and ecological uses? 

• What is their symbiotic relationship with other plants and animals in the ecosystem (food, habitat, shelter/shade, etc.)?

• How to harvest and grow from seed?

• Are there myths, stories, histories of the plant to describe its origin, relationship with indigenous populations or the ecosystem? Seed Journey/Origin Stories?

• What are medicinal, perfume and other properties that can be extracted?

• What can Ethnobotany teach us about native plants?

• Best practices for seed foraging, storage and planting

• Promoting seed banks as a counter to Monsant’s seed monopolization

• How can we teach children about agriculture and botany through seed foraging and saving?

• How do changes in the plant let us “read nature”? (e.g, drought, climate change, wind direction, etc.)?

What to identify in the field

• Native Pollinators & Pollinator Habitats

• Native Food Crops

• Native Trees & Shrubs

• Native Succulents

• Native Grasses

Those who have expressed interest in participating

• Tom Antonio, Chapter President, NM Native Plants Society; professor of ethnobotany at IAIA

• Lauren Baur, the SEV LTER Program Manager, Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, lbaur@unm.edu (would serve as Field Day leader)

• Peter Lipscomb, Park Manager, Cerrillos Hills State Park

• Ben Garland, The Southwest Seed Partnership, Institute for Applied Ecology, bengarland@appliedeco.org 

• Bernard Suina (bernard@kclcmontessori.org) and/or Abby Arquero ( Albenita.arquero@gmail.com) Cochiti Pueblo, Keres Children's Learning Center

Other invited prospective workshop leaders/participants

• Mike Halverson, Manager, Santa Ana Native Plants Nursery

• Dr. Sara Fuentes-Soriano, Ph.D., Director, NMSU Herbarium (NMC-NMCR); Assistant Professor and Curator, Plant Systematics

• Dr. Esteban Muldavin, Ph.D, Division Leader & Ecology Coordinator, Natural Heritage New Mexico, UNM Biology Dept.; Chairman of the Ecological Society of America Panel on Vegetation Classification

• Daniela Roth, Endangered Plant Program Coordinator, New Mexico Energy, Minerals, & Natural Resources Department, Forestry Division; Chair, The New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council

• Christine Salem, Co-chair, Santa Fe Seed Stewards project, Caretakers of the Santa Fe Seed Library, Santa Fe Extension Master Gardeners' Seed Stewards, jcsalem@comcast.net, 505-501-3415

• Marisa Thompson, as the Extension Urban Horticulture Specialist for New Mexico State University 

• Bernard Suina (bernard@kclcmontessori.org) and Abby Arquero ( Albenita.arquero@gmail.com) Cochiti Pueblo Elders (Dr. Curtis Chavez, Keres Children's Learning Center), bernard@kclcmontessori.org

• Joe Newman, Co-founder, The Cactus Rescue Project