Leopold Writing Program/

The Aldo and Estella Leopold Residency

In the fall of 1912 Aldo Leopold, the newly appointed supervisor of the Carson National Forest, married Estella Luna Otero Bergere, a prominent daughter of Santa Fe, and together they moved into their new house, “Mi Casita,” in the remote village of Tres Piedras, New Mexico. One hundred years later, in the summer of 2012, the doors to Mi Casita opened to a new generation of writers, thinkers, and artists interested in exploring connections in our communities and cultures, and in our lives and landscapes. The Aldo and Estella Leopold Residency provides an inspiring retreat for writers and artists in the physical context of the Leopold’s first home, and in the intellectual context of land ethics. Our mission is to enhance the relevance and cultural awareness of Aldo Leopold’s ideas in addressing the pressing environmental issues and conservation opportunities of our time.

Residents are invited for up to a one-month stay at Mi Casita during the months of May to October. Each year the Residency’s steering committee invites two writers (selected from a pool of college students, graduate students, post-graduate students, and other emerging and mid-career professional writer applicants) to become residents. Each resident receives a stipend of $500 to help defray travel and living expenses. In exchange, and in addition to whatever other projects the resident pursues, each resident commits to offering a public presentation of their work in nearby Taos, New Mexico, sometime during or immediately after their Mi Casita stay.