Land-Based Healing & Learning
Mission and Vision
Mission: Strengthening our kinship with lands and waters to support the community in reclaiming our identity as beings who are integral to the ecology. We work to provide exposure and awareness to indigenous ways of knowing, allow space for application, and then support creation and design.
Localize: We aim to immerse ourselves in local environments, landscapes, cultures, languages, heritages, histories, teachings, practices, sacred sites, ecologies, stories, literatures, experiences, etc.
Decolonize: We strive to prepare our students to enter institutes centered around western ways-of-knowing with a critical lens and strong sense of identity
Indigenize: We walk with students as they rebuild their relationships with the land and local community in ways that restore indigenous ways of knowing.
Keeper Programs: We provide a variety of programming that support multiple interests. Students and staff can choose to participate in medicine, food, water, mountain, and/ or story keepers.
Knowledge Keepers: We work with regional experts to offer insight, local expertise, traditional ecological knowledge and/or skill sets in terms of local history, cultural practices, economy, ecology, science, etc. These experts work in collaboration with educators and NACA staff to augment localized, decolonized and indigenized curriculum. Please fill out this FORM if you are interested in becoming a knowledge keeper.
Grounding Sites: We partner with community based organizations who have access to land around our school. Educators and students return to these grounding sites multiple times over the course of their education to develop seasonal relationships with land, water, plants, animals, etc. Please contact us if you have suggestions for appropriate grounding sites or if you would like to learn more about these sites.
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LBHL Programming
Elementary School
The land based healing and learning department supports elementary school teachers with a land based science program which includes garden lessons and field trips for grades K to 5th. Our elementary liaison will work closely with teachers and the rest of our team to align elementary experiences and learning with the overall NACA graduate profile, thereby creating a thread of vertical alignment within the LBHL programming.
Middle School
The land based healing and learning team works with a range of partners and grounding sites to create rich learning experiences for students and staff. The experiential education field trip program, in alignment with developing graduate profiles, aims to enhance the learning experiences of students in grades 6-8 by providing quarterly outings that connect them with a diverse range of community partners and places. These outings will offer hands-on learning opportunities, foster community engagement, and enrich the curriculum by immersing students in real-world contexts.
High School
The land based healing and learning team is working closely with the high school students, teachers, families and community partners to develop a series of land based college and career tracks, aligned with the developing NACA graduate profile. This will be a land-based experiential education program designed to immerse high school students in hands-on learning experiences centered around college and career tracks related to water, food, medicine (plant ecology), mountain restoration, land management, and landscape architecture. Land fam is working with college and career partners to develop and foster learning relationships between students and community experts. Through a combination of outdoor expeditions, community fieldwork, and mentorship, students will gain practical skills, knowledge, and insights into these critical areas while fostering a deep connection with the environment and community.
Summer
Our land based healing and learning ACES summer camp is designed for students entering 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. This unique camp offers a blend of educational and recreational activities that connect children with nature, cultivate mindfulness, and foster creativity. Over the course of the summer, campers will engage in hands-on experiences in our garden, participate in creative projects, and enjoy enriching nature walks and field trips.
My name is Victoria (Viktoryia) Martine. I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am half Navajo and half Pueblo: Laguna, Zuni, and Santa Domino. I’ve been a student at NACA since I was in the 6th grade and graduated in 2018. I have an Associate’s Degree in Integrated Studies of Applied Science from Central of New Mexico Community College (CNM) and a Bachelors in Landscape Architecture with a Minor in Sustainability. I love the outdoors, playing soccer, cooking, crocheting and doing art. I have three siblings who all graduated in 2024. I have a dog whose name is Meelo. He is a Chiweenie who has a ton of energy but loves snuggling next to you.
I decided to come back to NACA in 2020 where I helped start the NACA Elementary Garden and started in OST leading the Garden Warriors and Art Club online. I then left for a Landscape architecture internship called MRWM Pland Collaborative. I then found out that it wasn’t for me and thought about a time when I was actually happy to work without being at a desk all day long. I’m not saying I didn’t love the work because I still do think like a landscape architect and I am going to have my bachelors in Landscape Architecture in December 2023, however, I am a person who needs to move around and still be creative. I really love working with all the students and combining land based healing and learning in the classrooms. I wish I had this opportunity when I was at NACA. I'm very grateful to be part of a new era here at NACA and can’t wait to see where this new path takes me.