Niños del Rio Bravo (Children of the Rio Grande) is modeled after SHUMLA's highly successful Pecos River Kids programs. The curriculum focuses on addressing identified needs in the areas of environment, education, and community. Extending from April through June 2008, the pilot project will serve approximately 1,500 of 3,000 fifth-grade students enrolled in Acuña primary schools. In groups of 100, students will travel to Parque Braulio Fernandez Aguirre in Acuña to participate in one of 15 day-long programs. Students will rotate through a series of educational stations, each one consisting of a 30- to 45-minute demonstration and/or hands-on presentation. The curriculum presented at each station interweaves art, music, and science with cultural and natural history. Seasoned SHUMLA educational specialists will lead training sessions for 12 university students from Instituto Technologico Superior de Acuña who will then team-teach with SHUMLA's faculty.

The second component of Niños del Rio Bravo is the development of a community children's garden, Nativo Jardín de Niños. This garden will be designed specifically for use by the children of Acuña. SHUMLA staff will work with park managers and the community to designate and prepare a section of the Park for development of the Nativo Jardín de Niños. To encourage community stewardship and a sense of ownership, children will plant native seeds in the garden during the Niños del Rio Bravo program. In a closing ceremony at the end of the day students will be presented with a Niños del Rio Bravo certificate and will plant a native shrub that will serve as part of the garden border. SHUMLA believes that this will build a sense of community pride not only for the children that participate in the creation of the garden but the community as a whole. Future programs will be provided to the remaining students as funding becomes available.

If additional funding is obtained, over the course of three years SHUMLA will work with the community to forge lasting partnerships between civic groups, businesses, foundations and schools so that Niños del Rio Bravo will become a sustainable, on-going educational program for the children of Acuña by the citizens of Acuña. The ultimate goal of this program is to change behavior, attitudes and actions. Affecting positive change in student learning, community involvement, environmental awareness, and personal commitment will require persistence and dedication by all those involved both for short- and long-term success.