Trails + Telescopes at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
Summer 2010
We had such a great time at this one-day event last year that we decided to create a whole Trails + Telescopes program for 2010! Along with the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, the Capital City Astronomy Club, and other local nonprofit organizations, Commonweal Conservancy will host a series of star parties and guided hikes from April through October. Some of these events are posted here already; others will be included as soon as the details have been finalized—so stay tuned! Trails + Telescope events will also be announced through the Galisteo Basin Preserve Facebook page.

Hands on the Land community work day
with Earth Works Institute
Saturday, September 18, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Galisteo Basin Preserve — specifics TBD

Join the Friends of the Preserve and Earth Works Institute for a community work day focused on monitoring work and hands-on erosion control and planting activities at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. Part of EWI's "Growing Our Roots" outreach series, this work day is also in collaboration with the New Mexico Environment Department. EWI will provide lunch for participants.

RSVP TO EARTH WORKS INSTITUTE at 505.982.9806 or info@earthworksinstitute.org

Trails + Telescopes: Guided hike at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
with Earth Works Institute
Saturday, September 25, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Cowboy Shack Trailhead at the Galisteo Basin Preserve

Spend a lovely Saturday morning exploring the public trails at the Galisteo Basin Preserve with Jan-Willem Jansens, executive director of Earth Works Institute. This guided hike is part of EWI's "Stories of the Land" outreach program.

The event is limited to 20 people.
RSVP TO EARTH WORKS INSTITUTE at 505.982.9806 or info@earthworksinstitute.org

Trails + Telescopes: Guided hike at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
with Earth Works Institute
Saturday, October 9, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Cowboy Shack Trailhead at the Galisteo Basin Preserve

Spend a lovely Saturday morning exploring the public trails at the Galisteo Basin Preserve with Jan-Willem Jansens, executive director of Earth Works Institute. This guided hike is part of EWI's "Stories of the Land" outreach program.

The event is limited to 20 people.
RSVP TO EARTH WORKS INSTITUTE at 505.982.9806 or info@earthworksinstitute.org

PAST EVENTS

Trails + Telescopes: BBQ Star Party at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
with the Santa Fe Conservation Trust and the Capital City Astronomy Club
Saturday, August 21, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

The stars were aligned for this year's BBQ Star Party at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. We enjoyed a delicious BBQ picnic from Santa Fe's own Cowgirl BBQ while the sun set over the Preserve. The almost-full moon didn't stop astronomer Peter Lipscomb and the Capital City Astronomy Club from guiding us through the starry night sky. It was a perfect end-of-summer evening.

Community work day/workshop: Erosion control + gully restoration at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
with Earth Works Institute
Saturday, August 14, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Event cancelled by Earth Works Institute

Join the Friends of the Preserve and Earth Works Institute for a community work day and workshop focused on erosion control and gully restoration at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. Part of EWI's "Growing Our Roots" outreach series, this workshop will be led by Craig Sponholtz in collaboration with Commonweal Conservancy. EWI will provide lunch for participants.

The event is limited to 30 people. A suggested donation of $10.00 will help cover some of the costs of the event.

RSVP TO EARTH WORKS INSTITUTE at 505.982.9806 or info@earthworksinstitute.org

Trails + Telescopes: Guided hike at the Galisteo Basin Preserve: "Tracking"/On the Paths of Wildlife
with Earth Works Institute's "Stories of the Land" program
Saturday, July 10, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

We spent a lovely Saturday morning exploring the public trails wildlife tracks at the Galisteo Basin Preserve with Mitch Johnson and Peter Callen from Pathways, a wildlife tracking and educational organization based in Placitas, NM. Facilitated by Earth Works Institute, we followed pathways of wildlife and found prints of mice, wood rats, rabbit, lizards, squirrels, birds, dogs (of course), and even some of a badger.

Campfire Storytelling at the Galisteo Basin Preserve: Making a living in the Galisteo Basin
with Earth Works Institute's "Stories of the Land" program
Saturday, July 3, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

The old tradition of campfire storytelling was rekindled out at the Galisteo Basin Preserve on July 3. We enjoyed the quiet sunset around a small fire with a sweeping view of the Galisteo Basin and shared stories about the land and its people. Led by Jan-Willem Jansens of Earth Works Institute, we asked: How have people eked out a living over time in this old landscape? What dreams, stories, values, and treasures compelled them to settle, stay, and live in this land? What does the land tell us about how to live here? As the stories continued, the spay-toed frogs came out in full force and we roasted marshmallows until 10pm.

Summer solstice presentation + hike with author Craig Childs
with the Vista Grande Public Library and Earth Works Institute
Monday, June 21, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Craig Childs, author of The Secret Knowledge of Water, gave a brilliant presentation at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. The Summer Solstice Celebreation event was organized by the Vista Grande Public Libary, in conjunction with the State Library of New Mexico, as part of the library's summer reading program. We enjoyed picnics and Craig Childs' talk at the Cowboy Shack Trailhead, and then went on a guided hike through some of the Galisteo Basin Preserve trails and waterways with Jan-Willem Jansens, executive director of Earth Works Institute.

Visit the Vista Grande Public Library's website to see pictures of the event.

Trails + Telescopes: Star Party at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
with the Santa Fe Conservation Trust and the Capital City Astronomy Club
Saturday, June 12, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

We had a great time at the Galisteo Basin Preserve for this Summer Star Party! Thank you to the sold-out crowd that joined the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, the Capital City Astronomy Club, and Commonweal Conservancy for a lovely sunset picnic, live music from local band Sadhouse Daddy, and guided stargazing beneath a spectacular night sky!

National Trails Day booth at the Santa Fe Artist Market
Saturday, June 5, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Thanks to everyone who visited Commonweal Conservancy's National Trails Day booth at the Artist Market. We had a good time sharing Galisteo Basin Preserve trail maps, talking about the vision of the Galisteo Basin Preserve, and welcoming new members to our Friends of the Preserve community stewardship program. Click here to learn more about the Friends of the Preserve. Click here to download a pdf file of the Preserve's public trails map brochure. We hope to see you out on the trails!

Trails + Telescopes: Evening Star Train
April 16, 2010 - 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Thank you for joining Commonweal Conservancy, the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, the Santa Fe Southern Railway, and the Capital City Astronomy Club for this event.  The night was too cloudy for great stargazing, so astronomer Peter Lipscomb gave a presentation on board the train while attendees enjoyed a dinner buffet.  Peter presented his personal findings from a trip to Chaco Canyon’s Supernova Pictograph (see picture on right), which is thought to depict a supernova event from July 4, 1054.  While it’s hard to say definitively what the pictograph represents, Peter’s computer simulation of the night sky on the morning the supernova first became visible at Chaco Canyon suggests that the rock art is a record of the 1054 supernova—an object we now call the Crab Nebula.

Fresh Connections
A Santa Fe Alliance networking event to start off the 2010 Farm to Restaurant Project
Monday, February 8, 2010 - 10:00 a.m - 3:00 p.m.
Santa Fe Farmers Market Pavilion

We enjoyed "curbside consulting" on land-use issues and networking with Santa Fe-area food growers and buyers at the Fresh Connections event. We feel lucky to be part of a community committed to creating a healthy regional food economy!

A “Hands on the Land” event at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
with Earth Works Institute + Commonweal Conservancy
Friday, October 16, 2009 - 9:30 a.m - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

We had a great time with Earth Works Institute, the Climate Change Conservation Corps, and volunteers during these two days at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. Together, we planted a lot of plants along a rehabilitated length of the Arroyo de los Angeles, led two interpretive walks covering land restoration and landscape's ecology and history, and had some good conversations about how to build a community of land stewards at the Preserve. Thanks to everyone who participated!

September Star Party at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
Friday, September 25, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Thank you to the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, the Capital City Astronomy Club, and everyone who attended for making this event a success! We enjoyed a great sunset and the music of Cris Phillips and Michael Shepherd with our BYO picnics, and it was fun to connect over hot cider and cookies as the Peter Lipscomb oriented us to the starry night sky above the Galisteo Basin Preserve. The night was crisp and clear, and stargazing with the Capital City Astronomers was wonderful, even with some moonlight thrown in.