Youth Presentations, Classroom Education & Curriculum
The New Mexico Acequia Association regularly collaborates with schools, afterschool and summer programs, community events, youth organization, acequia commissions, and parents and families – reaching students ranging from pre-K to college age. Over recent years, we have visited thousands of students across our rural and acequia communities, and in urban areas.
Learn more about our offerings below, and contact our team with questions, or to schedule a presentation for your school, group or community.
Contact: alex@lasacequias.org – (505) 995-9644
SCHOOL & CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS:
Our classroom presentations (offered online and in person) are customized to fit the needs of your students/youth/group. Some of the core topics we frequently present on are:
- ‘Acequia 101’: The history, uses, and importance of New Mexico’s acequia system
- Acequias, the watershed and water cycle
- Acequias, ecology, environment and climate change
- Acequia music, poetry and art
- Local farming and ranching
- The magic and power of seeds, seed saving and protection of local seeds
- ‘Querencia’: Our memories and stories of growing up on the acequias
- Acequia mapping and GIS technology
- Community memory and storytelling
- Acequia policy, governance and leadership
Our presentations touch upon many New Mexico state education benchmarks – and are appropriate in a range of classes, including spanish, language arts, creative writing, art, music, sciences, NM history, government/civics, current issues, cooking, health, career and vocational skills development, special education programs, and much more.
We are also happy to work with your program to plan and facilitate field trips to visit local farms and acequia sites.
Our presentations and offerings are provided at no cost to schools and youth organizations. Donate here to support NMAA’s youth education initiatives.
ACEQUIA EDUCATION PRINT-OUTS:
NMAA is working ongoingly to build an in-depth acequia curriculum. As we face the challenges of covid-19 and online and home learning, we have also decided to share a handful of free, downloadable youth education handouts.
If you plan to use these with your school or youth group, please contact us so we can keep a record of where they are being used – emily@lasacequias.org
Click the links below to download, view, and print PDF’s.
- All About Acequias – 1 Page Youth Info Sheet
- Acequia Art Prompts
- Acequia Treasure Hunt
- Acequia Matching Word Activity
- Acequia Storytelling/Interview Activity
- Celebrating Acequia Culture Through Poetry – designed for middle/high school aged youth and up
- Mayordoma Coloring & Word Search Activity – courtesy of the Manitos Community Memory Project
- Sembrando Semillas – Somos Gente de la Tierra Coloring Page
- Seeds Are Life – Matching Game & Seed Storytelling Activity
- Plantitas, Bugs, Birds & Animalitos Who Call My Acequia Home
- From the Acequia to the Cocina – Family & Community Recipes
- Suggested Reading on New Mexico’s Acequias
