Montezuma School to Farm Project

Mission:
Connecting our agricultural heritage with our growing future by engaging students at the crossroads of sustainable agriculture, resource conservation, health, and economics.

Organization:
Montezuma School to Farm Project (MSTFP) is a program of the Mancos Conservation District in Southwestern Colorado. Since 2009, the MSTFP has focused on providing integrated, hands-on school garden classes in Montezuma County. We accomplish this through experiential education opportunities in outdoor garden classrooms, on farm field trips, through youth farmers markets, a youth farmer apprenticeship program, and summer farm camp.

MSTFP serves three communities in our rural county: Dolores, Mancos, and Cortez. This region is home to a wealth of diverse cultures, ecosystems, and high altitude growing climates - from canyons to high deserts to the San Juan Mountain Range. 

Montezuma School to Farm Project operates out of 5 school garden sites, as well as the City of Cortez Recreation Center.  We serve over 2,000 students, and produce over 4,000 lbs of food per year. 

Team Culture:
Our team is passionate about providing hands-on education and improving access to healthy, affordable food in our community. We believe in a balance of action and reflection, encourage collaborative learning, support spontaneous times of inquiry, and acknowledge the wealth of knowledge and resources in our community. We incorporate agricultural techniques and traditions from a variety of cultures and value the preservation and promotion of diversity. Our team is dedicated to the revitalization of local agriculture and understands that education about nutritious local food is a cultural necessity.  Also, we are a team that believes wellness stems from a balance and integration of work life, family life and self-care.