Location: Tijeras, New Mexico, USA
Use of land: Private land
First planted: Autumn 2024
Species of trees: Ponderosa Pine
About the project: This project took place in autumn 2024 initiated by Sally Wren Stevens, Founder and Director of of SOL Forest school.
Children’s Forest’s first planting in the Southwestern USA took place on the land of the Gagliardi family which is located directly east of Albuquerque, NM nestled within the Manzano mountains and bordered by the Cibola National Forest. Mama Allison, Papa Marcus, Aurelia, and Isadora are Heartwood members of our SOL Forest School community.
Sally’s parents and ancestors hailed from sunny Sussex, England (just a stone’s throw away from Forest Row and Danehill), so when she learned about the Children’s Forest program whilst listening to “Tea with a Druid” during the pandemic at a time when she was experiencing repetitive “Bluebell Dreams”, she paid attention and felt led to travel to Sussex in 2023 to become a trained Children’s Forest Facilitator. The experience was transformational for her, and she left determined to plant Children’s Forests in the high-mountains, river valleys, and deserts of the Southwest, despite knowing full well that this endeavor would be a project unlike any other due to our very dry, arid climate. Now that the SOL Heartwood community has successfully planted our first mini Children’s Forest, we are committed to carrying the Children’s Forest mission forward by planting “more trees in the ground and hope in the hearts” in the soulful way that we are known for, across the Southwestern USA (and beyond).
You can learn more about our first planting by reading our Tree Planting report via the link here.
From the Landowner:
Contacts: Sally at SOL Forest School
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