Our Mission:
Community Science, Education, and Stewardship: Equitable and inclusive hands-on student research essential to the management of the Rio Grande ecosystem.
Science
Through science, all things are possible. By giving our community an opportunity to participate in community science, we can gather information about the riparian forest (bosque) while allowing students and volunteers alike to learn firsthand about the complex ecosystem that is the Rio Grande bosque.
Education
We believe that education helps cultivate an understanding and respect, not just for our own bosque, but the planet as a whole. Through the education of the general public, especially our students, we seek to provide good data in order to inform public policy. There’s nothing greater than empowerment through education.
Stewardship
It is our responsibility to work together to study and learn about the Middle Rio Grande bosque. With meticulous research, data collection, and careful planning, we can begin to understand the overall condition of the bosque. Through community science, we hope to instill an environmental ethic that can transfer far beyond the bosque.
BEMP science and education take place on current and ancestral lands of the Pueblo, Diné (Navajo), Apache, and other displaced Indigenous Peoples.
BEMP acknowledges that this land was forcibly stolen by European colonizers and that the detrimental effects of their presence through violence, displacement, and disease are still impactful today. We offer this acknowledgement as a first step in honoring the Indigenous Peoples and their ancestors and as a call toward further learning and actions as guests in this place.
La ciencia y la educación de BEMP se llevan a cabo en las tierras actuales y ancestrales de los Pueblo, Diné (Navajo), Apache y otros Pueblos Indígenas desplazados.
BEMP reconoce que esta tierra fue robada a la fuerza por los colonizadores europeos y que los efectos perjudiciales de su presencia a través de la violencia, el desplazamiento y las enfermedades aún tienen un gran impacto en la actualidad. Ofrecemos este reconocimiento como un primer paso para honrar a la Gente Indígena y sus antepasados pero también como llamada para un aprendizaje y unas acciones más profundos como huéspedes en este lugar.
BEMP stands with our Black friends, students, colleagues, partners, and community members.
You deserve to have access, safety, and freedom from discrimination and violence in all spaces. White supremacy and whiteness as the “norm” has been rampant in STEM, conservation, environmental education, and environmental fields for far too long. While our staff hold many identities, we primarily are and appear white, with power and privilege granted by that whiteness.
We have a lot of work to do, and are committed to building our anti-racist toolkits and abilities through internal staff discussions and learning, trainings from outside facilitators, accountability to our communities, and moving resources and opportunities to Black, Indigenous, and other students of color who have been structurally excluded from Western science. As individuals and as an organization, we recognize our responsibility in removing barriers and rebuilding structures that do not equitably and inclusively serve our community. We will do all that we can to support you.
We added new activities to our Educational Resources page so you can engage in hands-on science exploration wherever you may be. Check out our social media pages below for challenges and updates!
CHECK OUT OUR NEWSLETTER TO KNOW WHAT WE ARE UP TO!
BEMPin' It Up Blog
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