The Dixon Water Foundation partners with schools and non-profit organizations to educate students and future ranch managers about holistic land management, watershed health, and other topics related to our mission. We fund two college programs in sustainable ranching at North Central Texas College and Sul Ross State University. Many of our grant recipients are programs that use Dixon Ranches as an outdoor classroom for K-12 students.
College Training for Ranch Managers
- Josey Institute for Agroecology at North Central Texas College: The institute conducts research and offers educational programs on sustainable ranching and farming for students, land owners and the general public. The institute’s creation was funded by a grant from the foundation.
- Sustainable Ranching at Sul Ross State University: This new hands-on program is the only one of its kind in Texas offering a four-year Bachelor of Science degree and a two-year certificate in Sustainable Ranch Management. With the range as their classroom, students gain real-world experience studying all of the natural and human elements that make a ranch flourish. The program was established through a $1.2-million endowment from the foundation.
- Walt Davis essay on ranch manager education: a fifth-generation rancher and Dixon Water Foundation board member reflects on what should be included in a ranch management curriculum.
K-12 Education Partners
- Kids on the Land: a unique Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) environmental program designed to teach children about the region where they live, connecting them to the land and a more sustainable future. Kids on the Land has led several field programs at Dixon Ranches.
- Marfa International School
- PACE Project at NCTC
- Prairie Protectors
- Texas Wildlife Association’s Learning Across New Dimensions in Science
