Española Healing Foods Oasis

• Heal Mother Earth from the ground up by regenerating a once-degraded and heavily eroded slope using a combination of Indigenous and modern land stewardship practices including earthen and stone terracing, soil-building techniques, mycoremediation, and phytoremediation.
• Steward water with reverence by integrating both traditional Indigenous and contemporary water harvesting and stormwater management techniques that honor nature’s rhythms and support the land’s vitality for future generations. Reduce reliance on supplemental water sources and minimize evaporation through wood and stone mulching techniques.
• Cultivate a biodiverse and culturally meaningful landscape of native, edible, medicinal, and dye plants that nourish the community, support pollinators, and reflect species tied to the region’s diverse traditions. Incorporate culturally significant plants specifically requested by local community members, such as doulas and herbalists, to support medicinal healing and ceremonial practices.
• Provide an oasis for the community to experience healing and renewal while fostering cultural connection, food sovereignty, and a deeper relationship with Mother Earth through stewardship, education, and care. Honor those who came before and those yet to come, carrying forward the responsibility held within the seventh-generation cycle.

• Heavily mulched garden pathways following nearly 1,000 ft of contour swales (in three terraces) embrace urban stormwater by filtering and passively harvesting runoff from one acre of impervious surfaces adjacent to the site, providing limited supplemental irrigation for the garden, eliminating soil erosion, and recharging the groundwater at a significant cost savings.
• Staggered steps made of locally quarried stone lead visitors on a circuitous path ascending the hillside, encouraging visitors to immerse themselves and interact with the garden, actively participating by observing, listening, smelling, touching, and tasting (harvesting).
• As a mycoremedation pilot project, the uppermost swale which receives the first flush of runoff from the parking lot was inoculated with nearly 40 mycelium bricks/ceremonial mushroom pillows. Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) mycelium was used due to its capacity to degrade and immobilize hydrocarbons and heavy metals. The intent was to intercept petrochemical and heavy metal runoff before it moved downslope. No edible plants were planted in the top swale.  
• The garden incorporates over 200 plant species featuring edible, ceremonial/medicinal, fiber, and dye plants that are native or regionally adapted and significant to local Indigenous, Hispanic, and Anglo cultures. Species like Yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica), an important medicinal plant in Indigenous and Hispanic healing practices, is known for its antimicrobial properties. Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), cultivated by Indigenous peoples for centuries, is both a nutrient-rich food and a phytoremediator that improves soil health. White yarrow (Achillea millefolium), used in Indigenous, Hispanic, and Anglo herbal traditions, has been valued for its ability to stop heavy bleeding and reduce fever.
• Planting techniques demonstrate traditional, regenerative Indigenous practices designed to maximize water efficiency and soil health in arid environments. Dryland farming methods, which conserve soil moisture and maximize limited rainfall, include terrace farming, rock mulching, and ollas. Terrace farming slows runoff and reduces erosion, rock mulching retains moisture and regulates soil temperature, and ollas—sub-surface clay vessels—gradually release water at the root zone. Together, these techniques enhance plant resilience in arid conditions while preserving soil moisture.
• The EHFO provides spaces for gathering and bringing the community together for a wide range of outdoor events overlooking the adjacent city park. The amphitheater-style seating area made of locally quarried slab sandstone also features a shaded pergola with a wooden latilla roof seasonally shaded by grape vines. Additional seating includes sculpted stucco and flagstone bancos (bench seating) positioned beneath the shade of existing trees, offering comfortable spaces for rest, learning, and connection.
• The EHFO has become a place for all members of the community seeking refuge and food, especially during extreme heat, as it is made hospitable by shade trees, an abundance of fruit and other produce, and a sense of quiet sanctuary that is rare in the area.
• Integrates local, reused, and natural materials for hard and softscape elements, including locally quarried sandstone for steps, recycled materials (cardboard in lieu of synthetic landscape fabric), shredded bark mulch for pathways, and salvaged and locally milled timber for the pergola.

The Española Healing Foods Oasis (EHFO) is a grassroots response to generations of environmental injustice, historical trauma, and cultural repression. Initially conceived in 2011 by Beata Tsosie-Peña (Environmental Health and Justice Program Coordinator for Tewa Women United from 2008-2021), the EHFO was originally inspired by teachings from Santa Clara Pueblo sculptor Roxanne Swentzell at the Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute. Throughout a deeply collaborative process, the vision was guided by Indigenous knowledge and brought together elders, local leaders, and youth to co-design a space rooted in community priorities, cultural values, and land-based healing. For the coordinating non-profit Tewa Women United, environmental justice is not an abstract goal—it’s lived.

Culturally, the garden is also a ceremonial and multilingual space where prayers are offered in Tewa (the Indigenous language spoken by the surrounding Pueblos), Spanish, English, and more. Signage and plant guides include Tewa, Spanish, and English names. Over time, the community has come to value this as a sacred space, where memorial benches and plaques have turned the garden into an informal place for community remembrance. In this garden, traditional crops—like amaranth (colonially known as “pigweed”)—has been reintroduced through a cross-border relationships with the Guatemalan non-profit Qachuu Aloom, who have shared seeds, hosted harvest workshops, and contributed to the garden’s evolving cultural ecosystem. Seasonal workdays, seed-saving efforts, and educational programs continue to draw a diverse group of volunteers who care for the space as a collective place for healing.

For the community, the EHFO is a place of spiritual renewal, ecological demonstration, and love for the land—modeling how environmental justice and cultural revitalization can take root on common ground.

The success of the Española Healing Foods Oasis has inspired a growing network of communities interested in developing their own healing gardens. In response, Tewa Women United (TWU), working with project landscape architect, created a detailed guide—Seeding the Española Healing Foods Oasis—to support others in replicating and adapting this work as a model.

The guide walks readers through every phase of development: identifying potential sites, building partnerships with municipalities, funding, project coordination, and creating phased planting designs tailored to local ecologies. It emphasizes culturally grounded design practices, dryland strategies, and the significance of Indigenous knowledge systems, offering practical tools for others seeking food sovereignty and environmental resilience.

TWU’s model prioritizes relationships as infrastructure. The Oasis is not maintained through contractors or external consultants, but through community—families, students, elders, and residents who participate in seasonal stewardship and learning through doing. TWU offers ongoing education, training, and resources to support this model, including seed-saving protocols and engagement strategies rooted in reciprocity and trust.

Central to this empowerment is the Española Public Library’s Seed Library, located adjacent to the garden. Community members can “check out” and donate seeds, all of which are tested for viability and to be non-GMO by TWU before inclusion. This ensures overall ecological integrity and supports long-term resilience through community-based seed sovereignty.

Together, the guide and the garden offer tools for empowerment and inspiration for restoring degraded lands while revitalizing cultural relationships—demonstrating how a community-led design idea can grow and spread without losing what makes it special.

• Early in the project heavy monsoon rains washed out areas adjacent to the stone steps, leading to some settling. This required adaptive strategies to mitigate erosion and slow runoff including minor regrading and diversion of water away from stairs, particularly where the garden meets the existing steps constructed by the City. Additional improvements were made to stabilize the terraces in vulnerable areas with added stonework.
• In the first three years, the project incorporated primarily container plants (primarily trees and shrubs) but later shifted to native seeds. This helped to quickly fill in the garden while improving climate resilience and significantly reducing costs.
• In response to strong interest in the Healing Foods Oasis and its diversity of edible, medicinal, and ceremonial plant species, a seed library was developed and hosted in the adjacent public library. Stocked with heritage seeds sourced from the garden, it supports local food sovereignty, home gardening, and reciprocal care for the land—demonstrating how community-led seed sharing can strengthen resilience and cultural connection to place.
• Those who have lost loved ones have sought permission to add memorial altars/offerings to the garden. These personal memorials have included tree plantings, memorial plaques, and/or seating—accompanied by a formal ceremony, prayers, and prayer ties on the trees (also known as prayer ribbons or bundles) to offer prayers, intentions, and gratitude to the spirits or deities.
• Awareness of the garden and its regenerative practices has grown, attracting visitors, students, and organizers from beyond the region, including international guests.
• The project continues to evolve beyond what the initiators had envisioned, expanding in subsequent years to include a Piñon and Dye Garden to the south near the library and an Amaranth Garden to the north—part of an international cross-cultural exchange with the Guatemalan non-profit Qachuu Aloom.
• High turnover within city government has led to challenges in long-term coordination and communication. While Tewa Women United (TWU) has worked with the City since project inception, there is no formal agreement in place with the City of Española. TWU continues to fully maintain the site.

The Española Healing Foods Oasis prioritizes local materials and craftsmanship over nationally branded products. Stone, wood, plants, and site furnishings were sourced directly from regional quarries, nurseries, and craftspeople, honoring the cultural and ecological connections of the surrounding community.

Stone Steps: Locally quarried block sandstone. Direct extraction and coordination with quarry.
Pergola: Wood for latillas and posts sourced locally
Trash & Recycling Bins: Unknown
Handrail: Local source, unknown
Plantings: Plants of the Southwest

Project Team

Project Visionary: Beata Tsosie-Peña, Tewa Women United 
Managing Nonprofit: Tewa Women United
Landscape Architect: Christie Green, Principal + Founder, radicle
Construction Liaison and Implementation Oversight: Scott Davis
Property Owner and Heavy Equipment Operation: City of Española administrators, City Council members, and heavy equipment operators
Civil Engineering: Martin Garcia, Anchor Engineering
Irrigation Design: Amy Bell, Groundwork Studio 
Hardscape and Carpentry: Avanyu Construction
Stonework: Rafael Rascón Ortiz
Irrigation Maintenance and Upgrades: The Raincatcher
Planting and Maintenance: Volunteers + community nonprofit organizations

Role of the Landscape Architect

The landscape architect served as a design facilitator in a highly community-driven, cross-cultural collaboration. Through the co-creation process, the landscape architect worked closely with civic, educational, and nonprofit groups to interweave Indigenous wisdom with contemporary design technologies. They also assisted with developing outreach, fundraising, and information dissemination.