Taos Habitat Project: Coming Soon!

The Taos Valley is changing fast! New neighborhoods are springing up from Ranchos to El Prado, farmland is disappearing, and an influx of new residents are altering the cultural–and physical–landscape. But these changes don’t always take everyone’s needs into account. This land provides habitat to tens of thousands of humans, representing a diverse range of communities, traditions, socioeconomic classes and lifestyles––not to mention all of our plant and animal neighbors. All of us have some stake in the future of this place, but not all of us get to decide its future. 

With climate change threatening the supply of water, diminishing biodiversity and complicating food production, and economic disparity worsening, these questions are becoming more and more urgent. Beginning in March of 2026, this project will provide ninth graders at Vista Grande High School with a forum to consider, exchange, and express their thoughts and feelings about important issues in the development of the Taos Valley, culminating in the creation of expressive pieces of public art. 

Over the course of eight weeks, students will hear from community leaders who are engaged in issues from affordable housing to biodiversity conservation, wildfire preparedness, sustainable food systems and beyond. Using design thinking techniques and imagination, we will brainstorm creative new solutions to these challenges, envisioning a hopeful future for our more-than-human community. Finally, these visions will inspire a collaborative work of public art, created with help from an experienced teaching artist. The spaces transformed by these artwork will become places of reflection for the community, inspiring viewers from all walks of life to approach land-use with creativity, consideration and compassion.