Zuni Youth Enrichment Project
Grants Awarded
This program provides Zuni youth with seasonal outdoor recreation opportunities to enhance their understanding of local environmental issues while promoting conservation awareness. Participants will engage with local water experts in Taos, NM, learning about the impacts of climate change on water resources, which will foster leadership development and resilience. Ultimately, the program encourages participants to become lifelong role models for their community through personal digital storytelling that shares their experiences and insights.
The Zuni Youth Enrichment Project (ZYEP) focuses on strengthening the connection between Indigenous youth and their cultural heritage by facilitating outdoor retreats and day trips to significant ancestral sites. These experiences aim to enhance resilience and foster a sense of belonging among Zuni youth, ultimately guiding them toward becoming strong, healthy adults while promoting environmental stewardship and accessibility to outdoor recreation.
The Zuni Youth Enrichment Project (ZYEP) will enhance Zuni Pueblo's 60-mile trail system by maintaining trails, installing animal-proof trash bins and benches, and adding a new 2-mile trail to improve connectivity. These efforts will provide a cleaner, safer outdoor environment for participants and promote wildlife appreciation, ultimately benefiting both community residents and visitors.
This project connects Zuni youth with new opportunities for outdoor recreation and cultural education through three main components. First, ZYEP will facilitate a Winter Recreation Trip for youth focused on engagement with the outdoors and traditional storytelling by community elders. ZYEP will also provide opportunities for youth to hike their local lands, accompanied by cultural guides. And finally, ZYEP will broaden opportunities for youth to bike in the local community. Providing these opportunities for youth is part of a larger cultural shift, opening accessibility to the outdoors for the next generation of Zuni while staying rooted in their identity.
This project targets improved accessibility and safety in Zuni’s Community Trail System, particularly the development of the 3-mile Cottonwood Trail for individuals with disabilities, young families, and bicyclists. By enhancing trail infrastructure and promoting respectful use near sacred sites, the initiative ultimately fosters safer outdoor recreation opportunities and strengthens community engagement in local neighborhoods.
The Zuni Youth Enrichment Project’s Connect to Land program aims to enhance Zuni youth's connection to their cultural heritage through outdoor recreation and education. By facilitating visits to culturally significant sites in New Mexico and engaging local guides, the program promotes outdoor access, fosters new activities, and strengthens healthy traditions within the Zuni community.
The program will engage eight Zuni youth, aged 15-24, in planning and maintaining their community’s trail system through a built environment apprenticeship. Participants will enhance their educational and career prospects in outdoor recreation while addressing local disparities and improving access to safe trails for the entire Zuni community.
Our mission is to promote resilience among Zuni youth so they will grow into strong and healthy adults that are connected with Zuni traditions. Since 2009, we have worked with a broad coalition of community and regional partners to pursue our mission, providing thousands of Zuni youth with positive role models through health promoting programming in the five following focus areas: connection to land, physical activity, art, food sovereignty and youth development. We also recognize that youth and families need access to nurturing spaces to engage in healthy activity. To this end, we have developed and steward a 50+ mile trail system, multiple community garden sites, and a youth center and park. Our enriching programs, nurturing spaces, and the health promoting and community driven policies that govern them, improve our young people’s wellbeing by deepening their connection to Zuni’s healthy cultural traditions.