La Plata County Community Food Assessment With Growing Partners (Web Link) we assisted in the development of the La Plata County Community Food Assessment. It can be accessed at (Web Link   Roy Craig Institute for Sustainable Living In the spring semester of 2007 the Senior Seminar Class of the School of Business Administration at Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO (http://soba.fortlewis.edu/soba/index.htm) developed a strategic plan for developing a partnership between La Boca Center for Sustainability and Fort Lewis College. This effort was spearheaded by the San Juan Institute of Natural and Cultural Resources (Web Link). Through FLC there is opportunity for students to utilize lab space and equipment for research purposes.   Food for Thought LBCS has hadbenefited from this program operated by Tina Evans at FLC (Web Link and Web Link). The program participants helped plant over 100 fruit trees in spring 2007 and another 200 trees in spring 2008. The long-term plan at La Boca is to develop a 10 acre orchard up on the mesa and out of the cold air drainage, fed by a drip irrigation system and a solar pumping system.   Farm to Schools with the Southern Ute Academy Getting children involved in a sustainable food system from planting, transplanting, growing, harvesting, processing, cooking and eating local, healthy food is the long term solution to food security (Web Link and Web Link). Through the contacts that we have made with the Academy and the further contacts that Gabe Eggers has we hope to involve students in every facet of agriculture – from planting to harvesting to storage, processing and consuming.   Irrigation and riparian wetland development and conservation Through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Partners for Wildlife Program: (Web Link) and the Southern Ute Indian Tribes’ Cost Share Program we have implemented a number of systems to reduce the impact agriculture has on streams and river. Through water conservation, utilizing irrigation runoff water for wetland wildlife and keeping livestock out of riparian and wetland areas we have reduced the impacts of irrigation return flows and other agricultural practices on aquatic ecosystems.   Watershed Science and Water Quality Monitoring Partnering with B.U.G.S. Consulting LBCS learns about the effects that land-use practices have on streams and rivers. B.U.G.S. operates a water quality lab and consults for agencies and individuals on how to monitor impacts and implement methods that reduce the effects of land use on streams and rivers. Through B.U.G.S. there is opportunity to utilize lab and field equipment for research purposes. Accreditation     Southwest Conservation Corp     Biodigester The Durango session of the Zero Emissions Research Initiative (ZERI, www.zeri.org/) came to La Boca and under the direction of Professor George Chan (Web Link) and built a biodigester. We tested the biodigester and were successful in producing methane utilizing llama manure. The purpose would be to heat a greenhouse for season extension.