Acequia & Land Grant Education (ALGE) Project

La Mesa Prieta Acequia (Photo Courtesy of UNM Land Grant Studies Program)

ALGE Project Overview

The Acequia & Land Grant Education Project has brought together educators, community leaders, youth, and other key stakeholders to develop lessons and provide recommendations to the New Mexico Public Education and Higher Education Departments on how to reshape the educational system to include a culturally relevant curriculum. Below are four co-created belief statements that guide the ALGE Project:

We believe:

  • The ALGE Project serves our communities and future generations by honoring the truths of our past while nurturing a legacy of land and water justice, food sovereignty, and cultural integrity.
  • That our educational framework in New Mexico, including how we contextualize land grants and acequias, should be grounded in Indigenous perspectives on history, land and water tenure, and community as well as critical consciousness on colonialism.
  • That a transformation of our education system is needed to serve our communities.
  • That an ALGE curriculum will strengthen cultural identity, elevate public consciousness, and lead to public policy that is inclusive of the voices and knowledge of New Mexico’s traditional, land-based communities.

Most of the resources on this page have been developed by local educators and community members in collaboration with CESDP. The ALGE Project resources available on this webpage are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

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ALGE Project White Paper

Reclaiming Our Past, Sustaining Our Future: Envisioning a NM Land Grant & Acequia Curriculum

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Building an ALGE Curriculum

Acequia and Land Grant Education (ALGE) Project Teachers’ Mini Institute 

Lesson Planning

Welcome to your digital library of lesson plans developed in collaboration with New Mexico community members, leaders, youth, and educators.

The lesson plans are organized in a Google Drive and are accessible via the links below. They are organized by grade level, subject area and language (English/Spanish). Feel free to view, download, and adjust lessons for your classes in ways that value and incorporate the culture and language of your teaching/learning community. These lessons are meant only as templates that you can creatively and authentically build upon for learning that is meaningful. 

Although lessons have been created with a secondary lens, many of the lessons can be differentiated and scaffolded to engage students at multiple grade levels. As the project continues to grow with your support, we foresee developing grade-level categories for elementary, middle, and high schools.

*Each content area folder below contains lessons that encourage cross-content collaboration and may appear in more than one content area folder.

If your community would like to host (at no cost) a lesson planning retreat to further contribute to this library, please contact us at 505-891-6904.

Sample Lesson Plans

Complete Lesson Plan Library
Programación de aula
Lesson Plans
Secundaria 6-12
Primaria K-5
Secondary 6-12
Primary K-5

Curricula, Readings, & Resources

CESDP website header_Drawing from the Well_v2

Drawing From the Well

The Drawing From the Well curriculum is structured for teachers to flexibly facilitate community-based learning for any grade level and any content area, including land and water education, ensuring the interests of the students guide the learning.

Learn More

Partners

New Mexico Land Grant Council

The New Mexico Land Grant Council’s purpose is to establish a land grant support program to provide advice and assistance to land grants and to serve as a liaison between land grants and the federal, state and local government.

The goals of the New Mexico Land Grant Council are the following:

  1. Direct financial assistance to community land grants- mercedes through Land Grant Support Fund
  2. Provide direct technical assistance and training to Boards of Trustees
  3. Serve as liaison between land grants- mercedes and other government entities
  4. Community and economic development support and advocacy

Indigenous Education Network

The Indigenous Education Network (IEN), uses the wisdom and knowledge of our ancestors as the foundation for success into the future. The IEN uses cultural and community values to create community leaders through outdoor experiences that allow students the opportunity to engage in traditional and community land management practices. The protection of land and the cultural resources within it are integral elements for students to learn. This approach also strengthens their understanding of Science, Technology, Environment, and Math (STEM).

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Echeri Program Innovations

Led by an educator, land steward, and certified permaculturalist, Echeri Program Innovations creates land-based curriculum and programming that reconnects learners of all ages to Nana Echeri (Mother Earth). With experience in K–12 education, culturally responsive teaching, and transformative pedagogy, Echeri offers hands-on workshops and initiatives focused on permaculture, watershed management, soil health, and desert agriculture—empowering communities to care for local ecosystems while honoring culture and place.

Green Fire Times

Green Fire Times is a platform for regional, community-based voices—useful information for residents, businesspeople, students and visitors—anyone interested in the history and spirit of New Mexico and the Southwest. The inspiring, bimonthly publication uniquely contributes to New Mexico’s media landscape by providing multicultural perspectives that link green, cutting-edge innovations with time-honored traditions. Some editions have a predominant theme or special section. All include a variety of topics.

New Mexico Acequia Association

The mission of the New Mexico Acequia Association is to protect water and acequias, to grow healthy food for families and communities, and to honor NM's cultural heritage. This organization hosts a wide variety of workshops, educational and networking events for food producers, youth and community builders. We highly recommend checking out their website and signing up for their newsletter!

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CESOSS - The Center for Social Sustainable Systems

Everything we do is guided by the fundamental belief that it is our responsibility as community members to protect traditions connected to land and water. Due to continued drought and pressure from major developments and a lack of understanding of water systems, the protection and preservation of water have become a major issue in the Middle Rio Grande Region. In order to safeguard the legacy left to us and our community, we must work together as stewards of tradition through education, engagement, activism, and ceremony.

Escuela Sol Feliz

Escuela Sol Feliz is a community-rooted initiative led by Miguel Santistevan in Taos, New Mexico, focused on conserving traditional agriculture, acequia culture, and local seed systems. Through hands-on education, farming, research, and nonprofit collaboration, Escuela Sol Feliz promotes land-based learning and cultural resilience for youth and communities across northern New Mexico.

Manitos Community Memory Project Digital Archive

This archive is a collaborative, living resource created by and for the Manitos, the Indo-Hispano people of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Its mission is to reconnect communities separated by migration and safeguard endangered cultural heritage, restoring a strong sense of identity and belonging. Supported by a wide network of partners, the project is an ongoing effort that invites contributions, stories, and participation to preserve and celebrate Manitos history and culture.

For information regarding professional learning opportunities, please contact:

Adrian Sandoval
Phone: (505) 891 6904
aisandoval@nmhu.edu