You are cordially invited to participate in helping restore the watershed on the aboriginal lands of HAMAATSA. The degradation of the land, and the pessimism and fear informing many perceptions within our communities are one and the same. Both are symptomatic of a disconnection from the life-giving spirit of water. The importance of cultivating a receptive appreciation of water, on the land and within ourselves, is seldom recognized until the wellspring is dry. Through watershed restoration work, people who come to HAMAATSA are provided an opportunity to reconnect with this vital living element.

This service learning program provides an ideal land-based learning environment for people to experience real-time watershed restoration applications infused with indigenous ecology and land wisdom. The day will be guided by Larry Littlebird, Hamaatsa founding director and guest instructor, Steve Vrooman, owner, Steve Vrooman Restoration Ecology.

The day of hard work will culminate in the warmth of the Shepherd's House, with storytelling and a talking circle around the topic of "Restoration in the land, in our communities and within ourselves." Lunch and a savory dinner will be provided.

Larry Littlebird will share indigenous precepts and stories that teach respect for land and water, how to conserve natural resources and how to heal ourselves as we reconnect to the land and our relationship to water. Larry is a Pueblo Indian from Laguna/Santo Domingo Pueblo. His coaching and mentoring style draws upon his multi-faceted background as a Native filmmaker, storyteller, education specialist, life coach, wilderness facilitator, and his personal experience as a hunter-gatherer-farmer, informed by his rich Pueblo culture. He is the author of Hunting Sacred-Everything Listens: A Pueblo Indian Man's Oral Tradition Legacy, which introduces readers to a timeless story of living in correct relationship with all life.

Steve Vrooman, is an environmental consultant and designer of riparian and wetland restoration projects. His design philosophy involves a holistic understanding of the fluvial geomorphology of the system to design passive restoration designs with the minimum of disturbance to the ecosystem.

Location: The program will take place on the 320 acre environmentally protected lands of HAMAATSA, in the main watershed, Arroyo Los Tanos, which runs through the property. HAMAATSA is an indigenous continuum learning center and demonstration site committed to regenerative and sustainable living, spiritual wholeness and cultural restoration. The Center is located in the rolling foothills of the Ortiz Mountains, halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. To learn more about Hamaatsa visit: www.hamaatsa.org

This service learning event is generously sponsored by Rio Grande Return, an organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, committed to providing support and funding to organizations in the Rio Grande watershed for the restoration and protection of the culture, agriculture, and environment of the Rio Grande.

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