Ciclos de la Tierra Initiative at Valle Vista
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
Center for Social Sustainable Systems (CESOSS)Ciclos de la Tierra is a culturally grounded acequia outdoor-learning initiative
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Ciclos de la Tierra Is Underway at Valle Vista
We are excited to share that CESOSS has begun implementing Ciclos de la Tierra at Valle Vista Elementary through outdoor education classes. Students are stepping beyond the classroom to learn about soil, water, agriculture, local ecosystems, acequia traditions, and the relationships that connect people to the land.
This is only the beginning. CESOSS is also planning community events that will invite families, neighbors, farmers, educators, and community knowledge holders to participate in the Valle Vista agricultural site. These activities will provide opportunities to plant, learn, share stories, practice land-and-water stewardship, and strengthen the connection between the school and the surrounding community.
Your contribution will help CESOSS coordinate student programming, family outreach, educational materials, site preparation, volunteers, and community events. By supporting Ciclos de la Tierra, you are helping Valle Vista grow into a living classroom where students and families can learn together and help care for the land, water, and cultural knowledge that sustain our community.
Growing Learning and Community at Valle Vista.
Ciclos de la Tierra is a culturally grounded acequia outdoor-learning initiative connecting classroom instruction with land, water, agriculture, local history, and community knowledge. Through hands-on experiences in gardens, acequias, farms, outdoor classrooms, and open spaces, students strengthen skills in science, mathematics, literacy, and social studies while developing environmental awareness, cultural identity, and civic responsibility. Rooted in querencia, resolana, mutualismo, and self-determination, the initiative brings educators, families, farmers, elders, and acequia leaders together to create meaningful learning opportunities that support APS academic standards and advance the educational equity goals of Yazzie–Martinez.
At Valle Vista Elementary, learning does not have to stop at the classroom door. Through Ciclos de la Tierra, students can step outside and explore the relationships among land, water, agriculture, culture, and community.
Ciclos de la Tierra is a culturally grounded acequia outdoor-learning initiative that connects classroom instruction with gardens, acequias, farms, open spaces, local history, and community knowledge. Students strengthen skills in science, mathematics, literacy, and social studies while developing environmental awareness, cultural identity, and responsibility for the places they call home.
The initiative is rooted in querencia, resolana, mutualismo, and self-determination. These principles help students develop a sense of belonging, learn through dialogue and shared experience, practice cooperation, and understand how knowledge can be used to protect land and water.
For this work to succeed, however, CESOSS must coordinate much more than individual classroom activities. Each learning experience requires collaboration with teachers, school staff, families, farmers, elders, acequia leaders, community partners, and public agencies. Activities must be scheduled, educational materials prepared, outdoor sites maintained, family communication organized, volunteers recruited, and participation documented.
Your contribution will help CESOSS provide the coordination necessary to bring these pieces together. Funds will support staff time, family outreach, educational materials, outdoor-learning preparation, community activities, volunteer coordination, and communication between Valle Vista, CESOSS, and participating families.
With your support, Valle Vista can continue developing as a community-centered learning site where students investigate soil, water, ecosystems, agriculture, and acequia history—and where families are welcomed as participants and knowledge holders.
By supporting Ciclos de la Tierra, you are helping create meaningful educational experiences for students while strengthening the relationships among families, schools, land, water, and community.