Wild Magnolia entrance sign

Wild Magnolia has designated hiking trails marked and maintained through major areas of the property. These lead to areas of unique ecological significance, through forests of huge umbrella magnolia trees, past historic cabin ruins, and to a sparkling clear swimming area.

Wild Magnolia Road and trails

“Rainbow Road” leads from Cave Mountain Road to the Wild Magnolia property.

Ixchel

At the gate Rainbow Road becomes Ixchel Trail, named for the Maya goddess whose name means ‘Lady Rainbow.’

Branching from Ixchel Trail is Beech Creek Trail, which leads to the crystalline waters of the swimming area on Beech Creek.



Beech Creek

Between Beech Creek Trail and Ixchel Trail is a side trail leading through the remains of La Salsa, a small community in the Back-to-the-Land movement of the 1960′s and 1970′s.

Janis points out features at La Salsa

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Ixchel trail leads finally to the ‘Fairy Pond,’ a unique wooded wetland said to be inhabited by fairies.
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View of the Fairy Pond

About 40 people were in attendance of diverse ethnic backgrounds.  After ceremonies to reconnect to Mother Earth, a delicious potluck meal was enjoyed by all.

Sun Hawk explained medicinal uses of many of the plants of the Land Trust and how to identify them.  In mid afternoon hiked to Beech Creek and enjoyed a refreshing splash in the water.

The signs with routed lettering are carved in eastern redcedar lumber, processed from a fallen tree, made and donated by volunteer Olin Karch.  Vista volunteers Janis Walters and Steven Wilgus installed the new signs.

Greetings from Sun Hawk — Maria Christina Moroles

Urgent  Notice from the President

Arco Iris Earth Care Project and our 400 Acre

Ozark Wilderness Land Trust Need Your Help Today!

2009 brought more great challenges to our planet, our world economy and to our organization.  Bold steps are required if we and Mother Earth are to survive and thrive.  Arco Iris Earth Care Project (ArcoIris ECP) is taking courageous action and we need your financial support today to continue.

This year Arco Iris ECP was nominated for and was awarded 2 Ameri-Corp Vista volunteers for a 1 year term. This is a valuable privilege few small organizations earn. Arco Iris ECP was selected for its stability, years of commitment, and community service.

Arco Iris ECP also became a member and an investor in FORGE, (Financing Ozark Rural Growth and Development http://www.forgeonline.com/) a non-profit lending organization located in Huntsville, Arkansas. For the first time in our 25 years of existence, Arco Iris ECP borrowed money to finance a building to house our office.  Arco Iris ECP now owns its own office (a requirement to qualify for the volunteer service award), telephone number, Internet access and a place for our all volunteer staff to work.

This year we also purchased a used 1996 4×4 truck for our stewardship work on our 400 acre wilderness land trust (in the past, stewards have had to used their own vehicles and equipment).

This winter, volunteers opened a new hiking trail that now loops around our beautiful wilderness land. This new trail will enable us to invite more groups and visitors. These actions will help insure the sustainability of our projects.

For the past several years we have experienced severe weather that has damaged our dirt road.  Volunteers have worked on improving it, but it will be necessary to hire heavy equipment to repair it, so folks can access the land. The road conditions were such that we postponed our community day Spring Medicine Walk. We are now focusing our energy toward road repairs.

We, the resident stewards and our local volunteers truly need YOUR support now to help us care for our sacred Mother Earth here in the Ozarks in these challenging times. Yes, we do have a few more expenses, an office, truck maintenance and needed road work. But, with your contributions we can fund a truck load of gravel, a tank of fuel, a utility bill, or other community service work.

Your support helps us to continue to care for our Mother Earth here in the Ozarks, and helps preserve indigenous and Ozark culture. Please help us protect these precious medicinal plants, trees, springs, creeks and wildlife that all live here.  We all know well how greatly the economy is affecting working folks everywhere.  Nevertheless, let us all act from our BELIEF and FAITH that love and goodness still prevail. Let us see these times as a great opportunity to grow stronger, to get closer, to pitch in and help one another in any way we can.  Your one small act of generosity, courage, or kindness, makes ripples that affects other lives and will even touch the lives those that are yet to come.  You can make a difference.  Please take the time to call us to renew your membership or make a financial pledge or both if you can. Use the Pay Pal buttons on the member page or drop whatever you can in an envelope and mail it to Arco Iris ECP, HC 70, Box 17A, Ponca, AR  72670.

Please check our events page for details to our annual fund raiser “Protect the Earth Medicine Shield Art Auction”, with dinner, and live music at 7:00 PM on April 10, 2010 in Fayetteville, AR.  We will also premier a beautiful slide show of our 26^th annual Spring Medicine Walk ceremony, where we walked the boundaries of our 500+ acres of Ozark wilderness.

Stewardship of Mother Earth is our Privilege and Sacred Responsibility. To speak directly to a steward call our office at: 870/861-5080

May you walk in Beauty, Tlatzokamati,
Maria Christina Moroles, Sun Hawk
Guardante de la Tierra Madre

ARCO Iris earth care project

26 Years Protecting Mother Earth, Preserving Indigenous Traditions

Honor the Earth with food, friends, music and

a silent auction benefiting the Earth School

Location: Parish Art Gallery at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

224 N. East St., Fayetteville, AR

Saturday April 10, 2010

Art Preview and Mexican Dinner: 7:00 – 8:30 PM

Music by Steve and the Recliners and by Anna Horton

Tickets:  $15.00 adults and $7.00 children under 12 years

Silent Art Auction at 8:30 pm, free admission

Refreshments will be available during auction

Arco Iris Earth Care Project invites you to demonstrate your loving support of Mother Earth here in the Ozarks by attending our fundraising campaign for the Earth School on Saturday, April 10, 2010.  Join us for a Traditional Mexican Dinner followed by a silent Art Auction.  Featured among other artworks will be Protect the Earth Medicine Shields designed by local artists.  The Medicine Shields are made from wooden discs cut from 2 deadfall walnut and cedar trees from our 400 acre Wild Magnolia land trust located in Boxley, Arkansas.  The night of the event the Medicine Shields will be blessed with a traditional Native American pipe ceremony. The artwork and Shields will then be auctioned after the Preview Party. All proceeds will go to The Earth School and Arco Iris Earth Care Project (AIECP) an Arkansas 501(C)(3)non-profit organization.

For more information call (870)861-5080

Here scrap metal (and an old outhouse!) are headed for recycling.

Arco Iris President and Co-founder, Maria Christina Moroles, together with Board Member Janis Walters, gave a PowerPoint ® presentation about the Earth School Project to an appreciative audience at the Newton County Library in Jasper.

The building was unfinished on the interior, and has been insulated, wired, and finished by Vista volunteers Janis Walters and Steven Wilgus.

The new office was initiated November 8 with a blessing, and prayers in English and Cakchiquel Maya. A meeting of the board members followed.

Janis Walters

Janis Walters of Boxley, and Steven Wilgus of Deer, were recently sworn in as members of AmeriCorpsVISTA, the national service program dedicated to helping fight poverty in the United States.

Steven Wilgus

Walters and Wilgus have been assigned to the Arco Iris Earth Care Project to coordinate with the local community to help develop The Earth School, which will be established in the Boxley Valley. Walters and Wilgus recently attended pre-service orientation for service with VISTA in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Vista builds capacity in non-profit organizations and communities to help bring individuals and communities out of poverty. In the past 40 year, over 177,000 people have served as VISTA volunteers working with local organizations to strengthen communities and start new and innovative programs.

Today, nearly 8,000 VISTA members serve in hundreds of non-profit organizations and public agencies throughout the country—working to promote literacy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities, or bridge the digital divide.

The Earth School will be a community based facility utilizing a natural and holistic approach that incorporates the cultures of indigenous and Ozark people to promote and teach sustainable living practices to all members of our communities.