By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 14 Jul 24
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The Fourth DayOn our fourth day we visited the playas that naturally #RegenerateTheOgallala…These shallow depressions create temporary wetlands when it rains. There are at least 60,000 of them spread throughout the high plains and each is capable of sinking large amounts of water into the massive underground aquifer that spans from Texas to Wyoming.In the morning, there was a gathering hosted by the local organization Ogallala Commons to learn about the unique animals and plants that make the playa their home. I touched the soil and felt how spongy and light it is — allowing most of the water to
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The Fourth DayOn our fourth day we visited the playas that naturally #RegenerateTheOgallala…These shallow depressions create temporary wetlands when it rains. There are at least 60,000 of them spread throughout the high plains and each is capable of sinking large amounts of water into the massive underground aquifer that spans from Texas to Wyoming.In the morning, there was
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 13 Jul 24
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The Third DayOn our third day, I began to dream of a $100 million dollar fund to #RegenerateTheOgallala…In the morning we drove across 8000 acres of sand dunes covered in grass. This natural geologic feature absorbs 100% of the rain that falls onto it to recharge the aquifer that is below the two hundred feet of sandy soil on this part of the land.I could feel how people on the Great Plains need to understand how important this groundwater supply is. The feeling became more clear as we walked barefoot in the Canadian River that is more sand
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The Third DayOn our third day, I began to dream of a $100 million dollar fund to #RegenerateTheOgallala…In the morning we drove across 8000 acres of sand dunes covered in grass. This natural geologic feature absorbs 100% of the rain that falls onto it to recharge the aquifer that is below the two hundred feet of sandy
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 12 Jul 24
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The Second DayWe continue exploring what it would take to #RegenerateTheOgallala…On our second day, we went out into the landscape to feel the southern edge of this massive groundwater system that spans from Amarillo, Texas all the way north into Nebraska and Wyoming. This is the beginning of the high plains and an arid region that fundamentally depends on infrequent rainfall for all who live here.In the morning, we visited ponds where trees have grown high around their edges to provide shelter and shade We observed the sandy soils and smooth rocks that piled up here in alluvial
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The Second DayWe continue exploring what it would take to #RegenerateTheOgallala…On our second day, we went out into the landscape to feel the southern edge of this massive groundwater system that spans from Amarillo, Texas all the way north into Nebraska and Wyoming. This is the beginning of the high plains and an arid region that fundamentally
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 11 Jul 24
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The First DayOur dreaming about how to #RegenerateTheOgallala begins…We arrived in Amaraillo, Texas and were received by our friend Will Masters who has been doing dryland restoration work in these beautiful landscapes for several years now.Our first few days will be spent at Kritser Ranch — a 33,000 acre piece of land that seems to go on forever. As we journey into stream beds that no longer have flows of water, I can feel what it would take to restore their former abundance.We are already deep in conversations about intergenerational change among those who own this land, how to organize
Dreaming of the Ogallala :: The First DayOur dreaming about how to #RegenerateTheOgallala begins…We arrived in Amaraillo, Texas and were received by our friend Will Masters who has been doing dryland restoration work in these beautiful landscapes for several years now.Our first few days will be spent at Kritser Ranch — a 33,000 acre piece of land that seems to go on forever. As we
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 4 Jul 24
See that patchwork of blue that spans the Great Plains? It is the Ogallala Aquifer — one of the largest and most important groundwater systems on Earth.Next week, Penny Heiple, Will Masters and I gather in Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado to explore how to #RegenerateTheOgallala. We know that this a region that has been profoundly transformed by colonization, displacement of local people, destruction of grasslands, and the creation of a profoundly unsustainable industrial agricultural system.This will be a different kind of bioregional activation tour. Our focus is less on who the humans are that we might come into contact with — and much more about
See that patchwork of blue that spans the Great Plains? It is the Ogallala Aquifer — one of the largest and most important groundwater systems on Earth.Next week, Penny Heiple, Will Masters and I gather in Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado to explore how to #RegenerateTheOgallala. We know that this a region that has been profoundly transformed by colonization, displacement of local people, destruction