Community Engagement

CO. STARTERS

CO. STARTERS is a ten-week, cohort-based program that equips entrepreneurs of all kinds with the insights, relationships, and tools needed to turn business ideas into action. The only real prerequisites to joining the program are (1) having an idea, (2) being willing to question, shape and fine-tune that idea, and (3) being willing to talk about the idea with others. 

Waterworks Restoration PROJECT

Phase One of the Five Points Initiative began in 2020 with restoration and renovation of the Historic Waterworks Site. This project is a collaborative partnership between swnmACT and the Town of Silver City.

The Waterworks Site will offer camping opportunities for locals and visitors and will act as a waystation for CDT hikers, with secure campsites and amenities such as composting toilets, solar showers, and a camping kitchen.

Additional site amenities include an Outdoor Education Pavilion for community events and classroom space on a cultural-ecological-historical campus, along with restoration of the Historic Waterworks Building (also known as “The Rock House”) into a Cultural Center, and the creation of an urban trail along Silva Creek, linking the Waterworks site to downtown Silver City.

Five Points Initiative

In collaboration with efforts to link Grant County communities via road, bike trails and walkways, the Five Points Initiative supports and expands upon county-wide development in the outdoor recreation sector. The proximity to Historic Fort Bayard will increase tourism activity and cultural programming prospects, as well as enhance connections to the Gila National Forest, Gila River, and Aldo Leopold Wilderness, for locals and tourists to further explore the innumerable natural assets of Southwest New Mexico.

For a comprehensive overview of Five Points, access the American Institute of Architects - Communities by Design Report below: