Green building meets Indigenous knowledge in Taos, New Mexico

Black-billed magpies and pine siskins sing on the banks of an acequia — a traditional irrigation ditch — that flows through Valverde Commons, a senior co-housing community within walking distance of historic Taos Plaza.

This nature trail meanders around 28 homes and boasts views of the Taos Mountains, their peaks still clinging to snow in the high-desert heat of late spring.