Santa Fe school gets $20 million to address flooding

SANTA FE — Santa Fe Indian School was awarded $20 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week to fix flooding and erosion issues on its 115-acre campus.

Because of heavy rainfall and poor drainage on Cerrillos Road, the pueblo-run school has been damaged by significant flooding, including a flood that delayed the school year’s start by several weeks in 2021. Along with addressing drainage, the three-year grant will help build outdoor classrooms and a rain garden with native plants.

“Over the last four years, we’ve seen three 100-year floods that have, in some senses, caused massive damage and lasting impacts to not only our buildings, but the grounds and facilities,” Superintendent Christie Abeyta said.

In some classrooms, there was over two feet of water, so flooring had to be removed to prevent mold from growing.

Along with mitigating flooding, the school will use the project to teach its 700 students about erosion and flood-control practices and Indigenous land stewardship — knowledge they will be able to take back to their communities. Students were already involved in gathering data for the grant application, Abeyta said.

“Community engagement is critical in determining the learning objectives and shaping the learning environment for our students,” Tony L. Dearman, director of the Bureau of Indian Education, said in a statement. “Through this partnership, Santa Fe Indian School will create a campus that reflects our students’ needs and values.”

The school will work with local knowledge holders connected to pueblo communities, teachers and engineering and hydrology experts, according to Director of Tribal Community Schoolyards Jennifer Santry, with the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, which is collaborating on the project.

The new landscaping will mimic river ecosystems. The project will include landscape ditches to collect water that can be filtered and used to water plants, Santry said.

Students will learn about design and how to address climate change with sustainable and nature-based solutions, Santry said, which should strengthen their cultural grounding and community ties.

“If we can create gardens and bring in the three sisters (corn, beans and squash) and traditional foods as part of those projects ... students are learning those skills, about our food systems and food sovereignty,” Santry said.

The grant will also pay to upgrade the school’s HVAC system and improve energy efficiency.

“With funding from the Community Change Grants Program, we are resolving longstanding environmental challenges in disadvantaged areas and increasing climate resilience within communities,” EPA Regional Administrator Earthea Nance said in a statement. “Through these projects the applicants will develop innovative ways to reduce pollution in their neighborhoods while creating new jobs that improve public health.”