A few weeks ago, Lee Vining students participating in the Experience Ambientalia program celebrated World Planting Day. In partnership with the Mono Lake Committee, local high school teachers, and the sustainable landscape design firm Watershed Progressive, the students planted native vegetation at the Mono Basin Outdoor Education Center (OEC). On the same day, at Laguna Mar Chiquita in northern Argentina, our colleagues also planted trees with Experiencia Ambientalia students.
At the end of 2024, our partners at Watershed Progressive began revitalizing the lawn in front of the OEC and continued the transformation of the backyard as well. They removed the existing turf, enriched the soil, planted native seeds, and developed rain swales. This work is turning previously non-functional landscaping into a space that is sustainable, educational, and ecologically beneficial. The new native plant garden and rain garden will support the OEC’s conservation mission by providing much-needed shade and creating additional opportunities for outdoor learning.
To further support the project, local students participating in Experience Ambientalia collaborated with Watershed Progressive to plant native grasses, sedges, rushes, shrubs, and trees across the OEC property. Along the way, they also learned about greywater systems and how native plant gardens conserve water and attract wildlife. Meanwhile, in South America, our peers at Laguna Mar Chiquita set up a public outreach booth to share the importance of planting native trees and also took part in planting efforts around the lake. By planting native trees and shrubs at both ends of our Experience Ambientalia exchange, students are helping to offset the climate cost of travel while fostering environmental stewardship in their communities.
Students on both sides of the hemisphere will continue doing concurrent environmental stewardship and educational activities at their lakes during the next few months. Our goal is that students from the Mono Basin will travel across the hemisphere to visit their sister lake and meet their South American cohorts in July.
About the Experience Ambientalia program
Experience Ambientalia is a community group that seeks to better connect youth to their home ecosystems and cultivate a sense of environmental stewardship. The Mono Lake chapter of Experience Ambientalia parallels a much larger program and contingent of students in Argentina, where Experiencia Ambientalia was founded in 2021 to engage youth in conserving Laguna Mar Chiquita. Mono Lake is a sister lake with Laguna Mar Chiquita within the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network because of their combined role in providing critical habitat for Wilson’s Phalaropes.
We are seeking support to cover essential expenses and educational materials to provide these life-changing opportunities to students. If you are interested in supporting the Experience Ambientalia program, you can do that here:
Top photo by Ryan Garrett.