Chinampa Refuges: Aztec Farm Islands Turned Axolotl Sanctuaries

Xochimilco's chinampas are artificial farming islands built in the shallow lake bed since before the Spanish conquest, and their canals are the only place the axolotl still lives in the wild. Wild density collapsed from around 6,000 axolotls per square kilometre in 1996 to 36 per square kilometre by 2014, as sewage, carp and tilapia filled the canals. The Ecological Restoration Laboratory at UNAM's Institute of Biology, led by Luis Zambrano, works with chinamperos to restore individual chinampas as refugios: sediment filters and reed beds clean incoming water, invasive fish are screened out, and the farmer returns to pesticide-free traditional cultivation, selling produce at a premium. Thirty-six chinampa refuges were running as of late 2023 with eight more planned, and the AdoptAxolotl campaign lets the public fund their upkeep directly.