North Leupp Family Farm Kick-Off Event: April 25, 2009

by Deon Ben

What an exiting way to kick off the spring planting season of 2009. Our adventures started in the parking lot of the Mustang Gas Station in Leupp, AZ as we waited for other volunteers to join our trip. We watched the reservation dogs criss-cross the parking lot as sands of an ancient wash bed dance in the distance. We arrived at North Leupp Family Farm with enough time to set up camp and do moderate cleanup tasks around the farm headquarters. We pitched up our campsite under towering cottonwood trees along side the banks of the Little Colorado River. We began a makeup lift around the farm and concluded our duties as local farmers accommodated us with a traditional Navajo dinner. The dinner consisted of a steamed corn stew, frybread, tossed salad, and a warm comforting campfire. Our evening at the campsite was overwhelmed by the setting sun and the San Francisco Peaks silhouette. By the evening twilight we ended our volunteer work with thirteen volunteers retreating to their tents.

Saturday morning local farmers butchered a Navajo Churro-Sheep for local farmers to enjoy during the day’s festivities. As the wind began to pick-up so did the Kick-Off events. We performed little moderate work as the wind picked up and visibility decreased, and due to the intense wind we concluded our work and headed to the community of Leupp for a traditional lunch serving. Local families once again accommodated us with traditional foods and provided us with a history of the farm, a raffle, and a tribute to Justin Willie. As the Kick-Off celebration came down to the last moments we found ourselves in good spirit with the friendships and bonding we had with our volunteers. We would like to THANK the wonderful volunteers who made this possible through their dedication, positive energy, and hard work. We look forward to working with you again, soon. Be sure to visit our trip photos posted on Flickr, and see our volunteers in action. Also visit our volunteer website to stay updated on up coming volunteer opportunities (http://www.gcvolunteers.org/).

Montana State University Volunteers

Video of MSU volunteers at Kane Ranch, working on their spring break in March 2009.

Montana State University "Breaks Away"

A group of 11 students from Montana State University crammed in a big white van and drove 15 hours to spend a their spring break volunteering for the Grand Canyon Trust. Together we spend five days removing old barbed wire fence from house rock valley and creating a native plant demonstration garden at our Kane Ranch Headquarters. Removing the old fence improved the landscape as antelope habitat. It also made us proud that the wide open spaces of house rock valley look a little more natural now that 5 miles of fence have been removed.
In the evenings volunteers took turns cooking the rest of the group dinner. We were all excited to be dining on local, grass fed beef raised on the land where we were working. While some of the group cooked, others strummed the guitar, and still others flipped through books on regional topics such as regional plants, stories of the Arizona Strip, and photos from the flooded Glen Canyon. These books sparked interesting consversations about the southwest, the environment, and the work ahead of conservationists and volunteers.
In addition to being great workers, this group of students from Montana State University were just great people all around. I am confident that the landscape was as positively moved as i was by the end of the week. Thanks to all who donated their time this last spring break to volunteering with us and making a difference on the Colorado Plateau.