The American Bison is a keystone species that was almost eradicated from the landscape in America in less than 80 years by the United States and its citizens. The number of bison on the ground in North America was estimated to be between 20-60 million between the 1600’s and 1800’s.

Back in November 2020, Hurricanes Eta and Iota (category 4 and 5) hit Central America with devastating force, causing rivers to overflow, washing out roads and bridges, eroding farmland, and flooding entire communities.

TWP’s next chapter will be a beautiful one — marked by new partnerships and alliances, greater impact, and a stronger, more diverse network stretching from the Rocky Mountains to Central America. We’re building on our success as a convener of talented local organizations, and providing them with resources to create change in the communities they serve. We’re betting on the next generation, and developing talent among young people that want to steward the earth, advance equity, and improve their societies from within.

Trees, Water & People (TWP) was honored to co-host Fort Collins’ 2023 Indigenous People’s Day Celebration at the site of the new mural painted to honor the ancestral homelands of Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Pawnee, Lakota, Ute and other Plains and Rocky Mountain Tribes.

For the past 25 years TWP has been fortunate to call Fort Collins home. This comes with the responsibility and commitment of honoring and respecting the people who lived on the lands before our organizational existence. To honor these people and educate the communities of Northern Colorado, we collaborated with Native western artist, Isaiah Stewart, to revitalize the rich stories of Native Peoples, cultural landmarks and majestic wildlife back into the communities.Through various community meetings and engagement events, the Indigenous community mural came to life in south Fort Collins. "This mural is about forward motion: the three buffalo signifying Native people moving forward towards future generations", Stewart mentions. From now on, this place will be a space for community gathering, Indigenous events and a place to honor the rich values Native peoples bring to our life.

In light of the difficult situation being experienced in Guatemala, and in solidarity with the partners and communities with whom Trees, Water & People works, we join with the voices denouncing corruption, recognizing that this is the only way for the country to move towards a dignified future, with equality and justice.

Trees, Water & People (TWP) was honored to participate in a convening of New Mexico Foundation grantees just outside of Albuquerque this past July.

Trees, Water & People shares the grief felt by all mourning the tragic death of David Bartecchi. Dave was a longtime friend, peer, and collaborator of TWP’s, and was the Executive Director of Village Earth, a global educational organization based here in Fort Collins, CO.

In 2022, Trees, Water & People (TWP) took on the challenge of stepping back to define our priorities, both for internal clarity, as well as to share with our more than 2,000 individual supporters and dozens of foundations and corporate partners. The insightful conversations and reflection led to the definition of our 5 priorities that we hope to achieve through our programs, whether on Tribal Lands in the U.S., or abroad in Central America.

TWP had the privilege to host 13 of our partners and community leaders from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador at the first Mesoamerican Indigenous People and Local Communities Climate Week.

In 2011, over 100 displaced families self-organized to purchase a piece of land. Today, approximately 75 families reside in “La Bendición”, Guatemala and the community continues to stand out for its strong leadership and capacity for self-management. After multiple years of fighting, La Bendición hit a huge milestone in June, 2022, when they finally celebrated having resolved the payment of the agrarian debt of the territory they occupy and own since 2001, a process of community struggle and perseverance.

Our project “Tz’unun: Ending Environmental Violence Against Indigenous Women in Guatemala through Empowerment in Community Forestry, Agroecology, and Collective Healing Spaces ” in partnership with Utz Che’, was selected as one of the winners of the 2020 USAID RISE Challenge, which aims to address gender-based violence (GBV) in environmental programs.

Through our 25 years we have been supported by our host community, Fort Collins, Colorado. To honor the diversity of our local community we entrusted artist Armando Silva with the task of capturing stories of climate migration, indigeneity, and resilience, and portray them through a mural in downtown Fort Collins.

Doña Bertilia Gómez, a primary school teacher, lives with her family in the community of El Churune, where approximately 200 inhabitants live and is located near the core area of the Comayagua Mountain National Park (PANACOMA). This area is a true natural treasure that captivates with its scenic beauty and biological diversity, reaches an area of 57,136 acres and has mountains that exceed 2000 meters above sea level. This mountain range is located in the department of Comayagua and is the main source of water for most of the population of the entire municipality.

One year ago, my beloved home state of New Mexico experienced its worst wildfire in recorded history. The aftermath of the fire has displaced centuries-old communities, devastated critical ecosystems and challenged how land management policies need to be refined. Even with support and resources, the road to recovery remains long and challenging.

We value cross-cultural exchange, as it helps you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and those around you. In summer of 2022 we had the privilege to take a group of first-generation high school students to South Dakota. Thanks to the ongoing support of Dutch Bros. Coffee, these students from the TRIO Upward Bound Program at Colorado State University were able to visit an Indigenous community for the first time.

In 2017 we created TWP Tours to organize unique trips to the countries and communities we work with and give our donors and supporters the opportunity to see first hand the work they make possible and to meet the people benefitting from it.

We are proud to continually receive top marks in various third-party charity assessment organizations. We currently hold a 99% rating on Charity Navigator, with top marks for Accountability and Finance, as well as for Leadership and Adaptability and a platinum rating on Candid / Guidestar, with an in-depth evaluation of our financial metrics over time.

Our partners at Comité Ecológico Aldea de Suyapa (COEAS) in Honduras have been fighting for over 2 decades to protect the Triquilapa Mountain which is a vital source of water and oxygen to the Aldea Suyapa and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This year we celebrated alongside them the upcoming declaration by the National Congress of Honduras of the Triquilapa and Cantagallo Mountains as a Wildlife Refuge. This is a big win for the sovereignty of the Indios Laborios of the Aldea de Suyapa.Proud that TWP was able to help get them to this point... and grateful that we get to support these efforts daily!

Youth development is a big part of our work here at Trees, Water & People (TWP). In Colorado, we partner with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s (UMUT) local charter school, Kwiyagat Community Academy (KCA), and other local organizations to involve youth in outdoor play and environmental stewardship work.