Gordon Tooley is reflected in a poster of apples as he reads a book about heirloom apples in his living room. He has been studying and working for decades to preserve heirloom fruit varieties on his regenerative orchard in Truchas, New Mexico.

Gordon Tooley cuts open a red-fleshed apple. These apples become "beet-red" when fully ripe and were traditionally used to color sauces.

Gordon Tooley hand cuts grasses to harvest the seeds and spread them to new areas of Tooley's Trees. Keeping the ground covered with diverse vegetation is an important aspect of creating a regenerative orchard.

Gordon Tooley, owner of Tooley's Trees, has been fine-tuning his orchard management strategies for decades to build healthy soils and grow well-adapted, resilient trees in the desert southwest.

Sheep are used to "mow" the grass and fertilize the soil under pecan trees at RioGro Pecan Farm in La Mesilla, New Mexico. By rotating animals throughout the farm, vegetation is stimulated to grow deep roots which encourages water infiltration, nutrient cycling and healthy soil development. The plants also shade the soil, keeping it cooler in the summer heat which helps retain moisture. Such practices have been shown to draw carbon from the atmosphere and store it in soils in the form of organic matter.

Josh Bowman and his sons, Ephraim and Emerson, at their pecan farm in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Most pecan farmers in the region clear the floor beneath their trees of any vegetation. Consulting with soil scientist Dr. David C. Johnson, Josh has grown cover crops, used compost teas and incorporated a flock of sheep into his soil management strategies to build organic matter and encourage a healthy microbiome.

Josh Bowman digs for earthworms and evaluates the soil as his son, Ephriam and wife, Layna (holding Louis) watch. Hunting for earthworms is a favorite evening pastime for the family.

Ruben Lujan, Sean Yepa and Marlin Armijo prepare to thin juniper trees at Santa Ana Pueblo. They spread slash from the trees around the landscape to build soils and encourage grass growth for wildlife. The larger pieces of wood are distributed to tribal members for fire wood.

Santa Ana Pueblo is combining Native American wisdom and scientific studies to improve wildlife habitat and increase the vitality and resilience of their native homelands.

Brian Wimberly delivers compost to be spread on a one-third acre test plot at Santa Ana Pueblo where they are evaluating the effectiveness of compost to increase grass growth.

A raingarden in the middle of a Santa Fe business complex, designed by Reese Baker of The RainCatcher, diverts storm water through a series of basins where it infiltrates and is purified with both plants and fungi. Based on permaculture design, the garden boasts many perennial edibles, including currents and oyster mushrooms.

Megan Wilson, who works at North Valley Organics, gets a refreshing spray of water from Elias Draper on a hot day. North Valley Organics is recognized by the USDA as an official soil health demonstration farm.

Janelle Plummer harvests sunflowers to sell at the Farm Stand at Reunity Resources in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Flowers are grown around the perimeter of the farm to encourage bird and insect activity.

The farm stand at Reunity Resources boast a wide variety of fruits and vegetables grown in compost created from the food scraps of Santa Fe's restaurants, schools and residents.

Alek Kaminski dumps boxes of bananas into a pile for composting. When schools and restaurants closed due to COVID19, truckloads of food were sent to food banks. Only 60% of a truckload of donated food was required to be edible for the donor to write off the full load. Consequently, many food banks were left with pallets of spoiled food. Reunity Resources composted the food to make soil in which they grew organic vegetables, much of which was donated to those in need.

Reunity Resources, a community farm in Santa Fe, New Mexico started by turning cooking oil into biofuels and has since expanded to include a composting facility, gardens, a farm stand, food truck and youth training programs.

Trevor Ortiz, Farm Manager at Reunity Resources in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Compost lets off steam at Reunity Resources in Santa Fe, NM.

Tony, Tommy, and Anthony Casados, three generations of ranchers in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico who are using rotational grazing to improve the health of their soils, pastures and cattle.

Tommy Casados checks on his steers, with whom he interacts daily as he rotates their grazing area with the use of electric fencing. This constant rotation mimics the movement of animals in the wild and allows the grass to develop deep, resilient, carbon-sequestering root systems.

Tommy Casados inspects the grass as he flood irrigates one of his pastures at C4 Farms in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico. Tommy grazes fewer cattle than his land could technically accommodate with the goal of growing an abundance of healthy pasture.

Miracle Berto plays in a water trough and hangs out with the goats as they perform their goat-scaping duties at Thornburg Ranch in Pecos, New Mexico.

One of the many sheep who make up the Horned Locust GoatScaping flerd of goats and sheep.

Amanita Berto moves electric fencing to give her goats a new area to graze at a Ranch in Pecos, New Mexico. When done correctly, rotational grazing can help revitalize degraded pastures.

Amanita and Tom Berto pause for a kiss next to their goat trailer. They were hired to bring their herd to La Cienega, New Mexico to reduce the risk of fire by clearing overgrown areas.

Aminita Thorp Berto, Miracle Berto and their dog, Keeper, take a break from tending their goats during a two-week goat-scaping job at Las Lagunitas near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Aminita Thorp Berto and Miracle Berto tend their goats during a two-week goat-scaping job at Las Lagunitas near Santa Fe, New Mexico.