The web of life – land and water health taught at Montesino Ranch Open Gate
Collecting samples in the Blanco river
HMI Program Manager Peggy Cole filed this report on our most recent Open Gate Learning Day….
The October 25th Open Gate at Montesino Ranch was an amazing exploration of mutual aid among people, plants, soil and water systems. HMI Program Manager Peggy Cole welcomed the group and explained the various HMI programs in service to our mission to educate people to manage land for a sustainable future. Holistic Management Certified Educator, Peggy Sechrist facilitated the day and opened with a short talk about the role of Holistic Management in creating a well-functioning water cycle necessary for the resilience needed to withstand drought.
Holistic Management practitioner Betsy Ross leads a discussion on Bermuda grass in the garden
Betsy Ross was her always-dynamic self in teaching the microbial balance by having the participants play the roles of bacteria and fungi, reacting to management decisions by dying or thriving (dramatically!). The results on the remaining web of life were obvious – we need all in balance to create a resilient landscape.
Betsy joined ranch manager Pam Mitchell Gayler on a tour of the ranch, describing the role of the weeds relative to soil needs and the microbial balance, while Pam talked about the various enterprises at the Ranch. The market garden at the farm is operated by Sam Woodward. Peach and fig orchards and blackberries dot the 9-acre farm. Guest-stays in the studios and the event production add income, as does hunting and the grass-fed beef operation, all managed by Pam. Chickens, eggs, a kitchen garden and recreational hike and bike trails have been added primarily to enhance the guest experience of local, organic foods and clean country activity. Sheep and goats have been added to the beef operation as meat and as landscaping tools. Scenic but rustic buildings provide an atmosphere of functional beauty.
Ranch Manager, Pam Mitchell Gayler describes the enterprises at Montesino.
Tracy Litle showed a few slides of her Faith Hollow Ranch in south Texas, demonstrating the improvement over the past 3 years since she began her practice of Holistic Management. Livestock and compost tea have made great strides in turning her “Thorn Forest” into beautiful grassland.
After a delicious Thyme and Dough sandwich for lunch, we turned our attention to water. Lauri Celella used the rainfall simulator to emphasize the benefits of deep-rooted grasses in optimizing the water cycle. Biodiversity adds variety to the depth and place in the food web of the various root structures. Litter eases the raindrops’ fall and protects from evaporation.
Ricky Linnex talks about the plants most desirable for holding stream banks in place while creating a riparian sponge.
The group of 70 participants walked down to the river for a lesson in assessing water health by identifying the macro invertebrates and their ability to live in polluted waters. Lindsay Sansom from Meadows Center for Water and the Environment helped us understand the food web in rivers and streams and let us go fishing for critters to identify (we found that the Blanco River hosts pollution-sensitive organisms, which means it is a clean environment).
NRCS plant specialist Ricky Linnex gave a short talk about riparian function and the best vegetation for stream bank stability. He answered questions about NRCS programs to aid in riparian management. Peggy Sechrist led a discussion about the take-aways from the day. Though it was hot and very sunny, most agreed it was a great day of learning and networking.
Participant Comments
“Very positive. This is my second HMI event. I brought my brother and mother along to introduce them to these ideas which excite me.”
“I loved it! Very well put on.”
“I enjoyed being with land owners interested in a holistic approach to managing land.”
“It was very enjoyable and intensely educational. I began the day knowing close to nothing about land and resource management. I left with a lot of new and exciting info!”
“Great event for newbies.”
“Exciting, informative, great networking, good knowledge shared.”
“Great opportunity to learn and meet people interested in managing holistically.”
Participants tour Montesino, learning the benefits of no-till and weeds.
Results
| Question | % Participants |
|---|---|
| Overall Satisfaction (Rated good to excellent) | 98% |
| Would you recommend this event to others | 100% |
| Expand your network today be meeting new people or learning about resources available to you? | 98% |
| Intend to change management practices practices/apply ideas you've learned. | 79% |
| Intend to pursue biological monitoring on you land. | 80% |
| Understand the role of soil biology in the water cycle | 89% |
| Understand how the use of grazing can influence soil health | 89% |
| How to assess the water quality in streams | 77% |
| Understand critical monitoring criteria to build biological wealth and mitigate drought | 84% |
| Why riparian areas are managed differently than uplands | 82% |
Adelene is a resident of Arkansas and loves exploring the state’s natural trails. Her passion for education and technology led her to earn a master’s in learning systems technology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With her professional experience managing student/client databases and instructional design, Adelene will bring skill and understanding to her role as Office Manager & Instructional Designer at HMI. Her focus on making education more accessible to diverse communities is evident through her volunteer work as an board member for a scholarship program. Adelene is devoted to creating educational opportunities that align with HMI’s mission to promote healthy, resilient lands and thriving communities.
Seth Wilner has been a Holistic Management International Certified Educator since 2005. For 22 years he has worked as an agent educator with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension where he specializes in farm business management with an emphasis on whole farm planning.
Dana was first introduced to Holistic Management in the 1990s while working in the Texas Hill Country. She strongly believes that Holistic Management can positively impact families that are on the land, the communities they are a part of, and larger landscape resource regeneration efforts.
Sarah Robertson grew up in Taos, New Mexico and has always been passionate about land stewardship, growing things, and nurturing others. After completing a BA in Communication from the University of New Mexico and working with local non-profits, she started her journey as a first-generation farmer. Since 2015, she has been learning and growing alongside her husband on various leased properties in Albuquerque, NM and running a small market farm with goats, chickens, and a CSA. In her role as Programs Assistant at HMI, Sarah brings her enthusiasm for regenerative agriculture, devotion to supporting others, and drive for lifelong learning and growing.
Jozua Lambrecht is from South Africa and divides his time between their home in Somerset West and their family farm in Sutherland, one of the coldest places in South Africa, where they farm with sheep. He is married to his wife Therese and they have two daughters.
Alejandro Carrillo is a fourth-generation rancher, and he is quite familiar with the challenges of running a profitable cattle ranch in the Chihuahuan desert. Because annual precipitation seldom exceeds nine inches, every drop counts when it comes to growing more grasses. Grazing year-round with only sea salt as an input, he is not willing to waste any water in such a brittle environment.
Jared L Talley was born and raised in Southwestern Idaho and now seeks to help rural communities adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. He is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State University, earning his PhD in Philosophy from Michigan State University and his MPA in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from Boise State University. An environmental philosopher by training and an interdisciplinary scholar in practice, he seeks to better understand how communities relate to the land and how this relationship poses obstacles and opportunities for collaboration and governance. In doing so, he studies the role of science in collaborative policy, the role of place in environmental identity, and the role of the imagination in mediating both. Specifically, he studies grazing management and public land permitting, community-led conservation programs, rural education and entrepreneurship, place-based environmental governance, and the imaginative experience of our natural and built environments — all in the contexts of the intermountain American West.
I been living in the City all my life, I never know something about raising crops or something at all about farming.
Hi Florian. If your’e interested in farming, you might also be interested in our Beginning Farmers and Ranchers training program or our Getting Started Online Learning courses. Details can be found under the Training Programs tab at the top of every page on our website.