EENM is excited to announce the 2026 awardees for the NM Youth Outdoors grant. This annual award supports organizations and schools designing programs that target youth who are underserved in the outdoor learning sphere. This year’s grantees are Chama Valley Arts, Taos Land Trust, NM School for the Deaf, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and Nuestra Tierra. Read on to learn more about these amazing organizations and schools.
Chama Valley Arts
Chama, NM
Mission: Cultivating Creativity, Learning, and Community, Through Arts and Culture
Project: Funds will help the organization implement art and science programming in their new garden space with students from Chama Elementary and Middle School once a month. Students will spend time in the garden every time they come to the arts center and create art work about the native and cultivated species that can be found in the community garden and the local ecosystem, as well as learn about annual precipitation, the watershed, the PH scale and how it relates to the soil and the watershed.
Taos Land Trust
Taos, NM
Mission: Taos Land Trust conserves open, productive and natural lands for the benefit of the community and culture of northern New Mexico.
Project: Funds will support programming at the “Rio Fernando Community Farm,” located at Rio Fernando Park. Programming will include work-based learning opportunities for 50 young adults, a youth garden apprentice, and after school programs for middle school students.
NM School for the Deaf
Santa Fe, NM
Mission: The mission of the New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD), New Mexico’s first public school, is to provide for the unique needs of children and students who are deaf/hard of hearing, their families, and professional partners by providing a comprehensive array of school and statewide programs.
Project: Funds will be used to support and expand Forest Day Learning at NMSD’s Santa Fe campus for Deaf and hard of hearing students in ECE, PreK, and elementary grades through 5th grade. Grant funds will support direct student programming in the form of outdoor gear and weather supplies as well as outdoor learning kits with items such as magnifying glasses, bug viewers, binoculars, clipboards, nature journals, pencils, measuring tools, field guides, and backpacks or totes.
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps
Taos, NM
Mission: Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC) engages youth and young adults in meaningful, paid service opportunities that promote personal growth, community involvement, and environmental stewardship across northern and central New Mexico. Our mission is to inspire young people to make a positive difference in themselves and their communities through teamwork, service, and experiential education.
Project: Rocky Mountain Youth Corps will use grant funds to reduce barriers that often prevent youth from participating in outdoor programs. Through our new Junior Corps program, youth ages 14–15 will spend the summer engaged in hands-on conservation projects, environmental education, outdoor recreation, leadership development, and service-learning activities throughout Northern New Mexico. Funds will cover the necessary supplies so that Junior Corps members can safely engage in the program.
Nuestra Tierra
Las Cruces, NM
Mission: Nuestra Tierra ensures that historically and deliberately excluded communities have access to the outdoors and that our history, values, and people are authentically reflected in public land and water management decisions.
Project: Nuestra Tierra will use grant funds to host a free community fishing event for youth and families in the Gila region in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The event will provide a welcoming introduction to fishing and outdoor recreation for young people who may not otherwise have access to these experiences.