Rosella Chiles told the Forum she could’ve made a beautiful slide show presentation on her computer, taken it into the Nucla school and spoken with sixth-grade students about soils. She could’ve brought cups of soil for the kids to inspect and talk about.
The kids are learning about soil health, while also working on a poster contest for the Shavano Conservation District, a local organization established in the 1940s specifically for soil health and in the past damage-control after floods. The organization continues to support farmers and ranchers these days with various programs.
Rather than give a lecture in class though, Chiles invited students to her family’s place, Rimrocker Ranch, on the outskirts of Nucla to experience soils. When the kids arrived on Sept. 24, she said they came alive.
Ms. Megan Urban brought the social studies class out, 21 students, and there they saw what the Chiles are growing: various grasses, radishes, purple-top turnips, buckwheat, oats, white clover, collards and sunflowers.
The Chiles have been working with the Shavano Conservation District for the last four and a half years, and their place is considered a true regenerative ag ranch. They grow all the feed for their animals. Chiles said they grow several things at a time and are multi-crop, not mono-crop, farming. Some of what they raise is for the pollinators and birds, some is for deep taproot, and others are for fixing the nitrogen.
Chiles said she had soil information for the kids when they arrived, things they should be looking for out in the field. Then, they all began exploring.
“It was a blast,” she said, “an absolute blast.”
The students were very excited, Chiles said, and free to pick things. They gathered sunflowers, collected arm-loads of turnips and picked radishes to take home.
“It was real life,” Chiles added.
Urban agreed the kids were very enthusiastic and also spoke of wanting to cook what they’d harvested. Laughter and smiles pervaded the day of hands-on learning.
Now, using the site visit as inspiration, students will work on the poster contest entries, and the theme is “Soil: Where it all Begins.” There are local, state and national awards, and at least three will be given preliminary honors from the Nucla school. Winners will be announced in early November, Chiles said.
Mendy Stewart, Education and Outreach Coordinator for Shavano Conservation District, told the Forum that Chiles and the Rimrocker Ranch are an excellent example for teaching West End students that soil is the foundation of food and fiber.
“Soil health principles, like plant diversity, not only care for the soil and microbes in it, but also have additional benefits for drought resilience and water efficiency,” she said. “The Chiles apply soil health principles and regenerative agriculture in a variety of ways at Rimrocker Ranch. They apply compost extract and dry compost on some of their fields, utilize no-till practices by using a no-till drill, and they were in the Colorado Department of Agriculture's 'Saving Tomorrow's Agriculture Resources' program, a precursor to the current CDA Soil Health Program. The Shavano Conservation District is blessed to have Cliff and Rosella and partners like the Colorado State Conservation Board to make the poster contest possible.”
The Colorado State Conservation Board (CSCB) and its matching grant program awarded funds to the Shavano Conservation District this year to help support local conservation education. Grant funding provided critical resources for educational materials, art supplies and outreach activities connected to the poster contest. The CSCB works in partnership with Colorado’s 74 conservation districts to promote the wise use and care of the state’s natural resources. Its matching grant program strengthens local conservation efforts by providing financial support for projects focused on land stewardship, youth education, community outreach and innovative conservation practices.
The Shavano Conservation District notes that this support makes programs like the annual poster contest possible and helps engage the next generation in understanding and protecting Colorado’s agricultural resources and natural landscapes.
