Weaving the Fabric of Regeneration in Mexico
It can be hard to describe what LegacyWorks Group does. We talk about community and ecosystem health, resilience, sustainable economies, and regeneration of social, economic and environmental values. All of these terms encompass so many things precisely because our work takes a holistic approach and does cover many topics. We recognize that the good of the land can’t be achieved without the good of the people. And we work, hand-in-hand with local people, to address the inter-related web of issues that drive scarcity, or alternatively, can create abundance in a place.
As an example, although we often focus on environmental conservation, more and more we’ve been helping to weave the essential role of education into the work of systemic, place-based change. Our Water Study in Cabo del Este, for example, had its roots in the Baja Coastal Institute’s work with area public schools providing ground-breaking environmental and experiential education. In order to strengthen and deepen this focus, we invited organizations like Radix Education, and the Fondo para la Comunicación y Educación Ambiental (FCEA) and leaders like Patricia Vazquez del Mercado, Erik Ramierz Ruiz, and Tere Gutierrez to knit into and strengthen coastal regeneration efforts.
The knitting takes place in “labs” up and down the Pacific Coast of Mexico (at home in Baja California Sur, and in Jalisco, Guerrero and Oaxaca) in a growing network of partnerships called the “Regenerative Watersheds and Communities Network.” All of the labs inform and strengthen our core work in Cabo del Este, and we share what we learn to ensure other places can access the innovations being tested here at the Southern end of the Baja California peninsula.
Linda Nathan Post
You might enjoy taking a peek through the eyes of educator, Linda Nathan, at how this work is evolving in the lab that coalesced around Hotel Playa Viva's regenerative commitment in Juluchuca Guerrero. Linda Nathan heads the Perrone-Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership and lectures at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She was invited to attend our 2021 strategic convening for whole-watershed restoration at Playa Viva last December.
Her blog post Regeneration: Problem Solving in a Mexico Watershed | Linda F. Nathan | Educator chronicles her impressions as an experienced educator immersed in the whole systems approach we advance. As she says in her post, “I came to understand that the success of regeneration depends on the interconnection between people, land and water.”
Achieving lasting change and regenerating marine, terrestrial and social and economic conditions in Baja California Sur, and Mexico, is our focus. Collaboration and the supported talents and energy of diverse players is how we do it. We are pleased to share the process and new partners, like Linda, with all of you who make this work possible.