The Railyard Stewards
OUR MISSION: To provide community stewardship and advocacy for the care and programming of the Railyard Park and Plaza.
OUR VISION: To build a vibrant, beautiful, popular and safe community gathering place representing the history, values and aspirations of the people of Santa Fe.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY: To ensure that the Railyard Park and Plaza are maintained in perpetuity “as a park, open space, community gathering place, Rail Line corridor, trail corridor and plaza area,” as designated in the Railyard Master Plan.
Who Are the Stewards?
The Railyard Stewards is a grassroots organization working in partnership with the City of Santa Fe in a unique care, conservation and education effort to encourage residents to actively participate in our newest and largest city park and adjacent community plaza.
Currently operating under the auspices of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, the Stewards group is modeled after such successful stewardship groups as New York’s Central Park Conservancy. The Stewards support the City of Santa Fe’s regular park maintenance by providing specialized care of the park’s ornamental gardens; coordinating extensive community outreach programs; and maintaining ongoing oversight of the park’s horticultural programs and design.
Volunteers Matter
The Stewards rely on community volunteers to fulfill the following goals:
Care for the Land: To advocate and provide resources for the maintenance and enhancement of the Railyard Park and Plaza landscape according to the highest standards of excellence.
Focus on the Visitor: To develop event and educational programming that provides opportunities for diverse visitor experiences that encourage repeat, year-round visitation.
Foster Community Ownership and Partnership: To build a network of volunteers who advocate for and work to sustain the Railyard Park and Plaza in perpetuity
Fund the Future: To raise sufficient funds to support the ongoing care and enhancement of the Railyard Park and Plaza
RECENT PROJECTS
The Railyard Stewards’ staff provides leadership, expertise, and community outreach for the development of educational programming and volunteer projects in horticulture, environmental sustainability and much more. Hundreds of Santa Fe residents, schools, businesses, gardeners, and other organizations are partnering with us in a variety of site-based projects, including:
Community Food Gardens: More than 30 local residents work in the Railyard Park’s community food garden program, growing edible plants for home use and to meet other vital community food needs.
Green-Collar Training: Local at-risk students from YouthWorks gather at the Railyard Park each week for hands-on “green-collar” training in water harvesting, horticulture, urban food production and more.
Horticultural Care: Since March 2009, 150 volunteers from Santa Fe schools, businesses, garden groups and elsewhere have generously provided more than 1,300 hours of critical specialized horticultural care to keep the Railyard Park green, clean and thriving.
