Una iniciativa de
Who We Are
A community that decided not to stand by.
3,000+
trees reforested
2
cooperatives created
2
axolotl refuges
40+
legal actions
The axolotl is dying in polluted waters. But we refused to watch it disappear. Santuario Ajolote · CIMA A.C. works to restore its habitat, its water, and its future.
Work in the water.
Work with the communities.
Work with scientists, students and teachers.
Work in the chinampas.
Work in axolotl reproduction and conservation.
Restore the habitat.
And also defend it legally when necessary.
We are part of CIMA A.C., a Mexican environmental organization that has worked since 2019 on conservation, education, civic participation and defense of Mexico's biocultural heritage.
Our heart is in Xochimilco, one of Mexico's most extraordinary ecosystems and one of the last natural refuges of Ambystoma mexicanum, the famous Mexican axolotl.
But our cause is not limited to the axolotl. Saving the axolotl means saving its home. It means defending the water, the chinampas, the ahuejote trees, the birds, the insects, the fish, the plants, the farmers and the communities that for centuries have built and cared for this extraordinary landscape.
🦎 We don't just rescue axolotls. We defend their habitat.
Our work has different fronts.
💧 Water restoration
We develop artificial wetland projects, biofilters and bioremediation to help recover the water quality of the canals and chinampas.
We currently work in a restoration network that seeks to expand the treatment and recovery capacity of the ecosystem. The Sanctuary itself sets a 2026 goal to advance bioremediation through a network of artificial wetlands.
🌱 Ecosystem restoration
We reforest, build pollinator gardens, recover spaces and work alongside chinampa farmers to recover fundamental elements of the landscape.
Because a healthy ecosystem needs much more than a single species.
🧬 Conservation and breeding
We have a laboratory dedicated to the conservation and breeding of Ambystoma mexicanum.
We work with different genetic lines and breeding programs, seeking to maintain genetic diversity and generate knowledge that can contribute to future conservation projects. The lab currently reports 11 genetic families and more than 800 specimens bred over the last four years.
🔬 Science and civic participation
We are developing AxolotFinder, a technological platform to connect research, observations, conservation and civic participation.
We want technology to stop being something distant and become a tool for researchers, students, teachers and citizens to participate in conservation.
⚖️ We also defend the wetland in the courts and before authorities
This is a fundamental part of our work. Conserving also means defending.
When an activity threatens the wetland, when there is possible environmental damage, or when authorities don't act as they should, we use the legal tools available to demand compliance with environmental legislation.
We have filed complaints, written submissions and civic actions related to activities that may affect the Protected Natural Area of Xochimilco.
- Pollution and wastewater discharges;
- Impacts on the wetland;
- Mass events and activities within environmentally sensitive zones;
- Use of gasoline motors;
- Possible impacts on conservation soil;
- Deterioration of canals and chinampas;
- Protection of species and biodiversity.
Silence in the face of environmental crimes allows degradation to continue. That's why we document, investigate, file complaints and follow up on cases. We don't seek confrontation for the sake of it. We seek to have the law enforced and the ecosystem protected.
Our own legal action platform documents this work and explains why civic participation is essential to defend the wetland.
🌾 Conserving also means working with communities
Xochimilco is not just a landscape. It is a living culture. That's why we believe conservation cannot be done without the people who live and work here.
We work with chinampa farmers, rowers, producers, students, researchers, volunteers and community organizations. We develop projects that seek to make conservation also generate economic opportunities and strengthen traditional forms of production.
One example is our work with Chile Chicuarote de Xochimilco, where traditional agriculture, seed conservation, local economy and ecosystem restoration begin to form part of a single model.
🚣 Tourism yes. Destruction no.
We deeply believe in tourism. But we believe in tourism that respects Xochimilco. That's why we defend the use of the traditional trajinera, rowing and experiences that allow visitors to know the wetland without turning it into an amusement park.
Tourism can finance conservation. But for that to happen, there must be a fair relationship between visitors, workers, communities and the ecosystem.
💧 Restore the water
The survival of the axolotl is directly related to the quality of its habitat. That's why we develop projects for biofilters, artificial wetlands, bioremediation, canal restoration, chinampa recovery, reforestation, pollinator gardens, waste management and environmental monitoring. Our goal is not simply to build infrastructure. We want to recover ecological processes.
🌾 Recover the chinampa
The chinampa is not just an agricultural technique. It is an ancestral technology for living with water. That's why we develop projects to recover traditional techniques, agricultural production, seed conservation and strengthening producers. The rescue of the floating chinampa seeks to recover ancestral techniques and document them so they can be maintained and reproduced in the future.
🦎 Conserve the axolotl
At the same time, we develop conservation and breeding programs for Ambystoma mexicanum. Our lab works with different genetic families and breeding programs to maintain genetic diversity and generate knowledge. But for us, breeding axolotls is not the final goal. The final goal is that one day the axolotl can return to a healthy ecosystem where it can live.
🔬 Science + Community + Technology
That's why we are developing new digital tools. AxolotFinder is one of our projects to connect researchers, students, citizens, communities, data and conservation. We want anyone to be able to participate in building knowledge about the axolotl and Xochimilco. The conservation of the future needs science, civic participation and technology.
🦎 Why do we do it?
Because saving the axolotl is saving the ecosystem. And saving the ecosystem is saving the social fabric that sustains us.
Because the axolotl is much more than a charismatic species. It is a symbol of Xochimilco. And Xochimilco is much more than a tourist destination. It is a living ecosystem. It is culture. It is agriculture. It is water. It is memory. It is community. It is a fundamental part of Mexico's natural and biocultural heritage.
If the axolotl disappears, we don't just lose a species. We lose a part of the history of our relationship with water. We lose a mirror that tells us who we are and how we care for what gives us life.
But our mission goes beyond water. We believe saving the axolotl also means healing the social fabric. It means reconnecting people with their territory, rebuilding trust between communities and institutions, and remembering that caring for the water, the land and its species is also caring for each other.
As a civil association, we have a social responsibility to Mexico and the world. We cannot wait for others to solve what we can do today. Every day is a challenge: to rise with the conviction that it is possible, even when it sometimes seems impossible. Every day is a decision. And we make it every single day.
We do it for those who come next. We do it for the children of Xochimilco who deserve to grow up beside clean water. We do it for the communities that have sustained this landscape for centuries. We do it because we believe hope is also built with our hands.
Our conviction
Saving the axolotl is saving the ecosystem
The axolotl is the wetland's thermometer. If it lives, the whole ecosystem has a chance.
Healing the social fabric
Conservation is also repairing the bonds between people, communities and their territory.
Social responsibility
We are a civil association committed to Mexico and the world that will inherit what we do today.
A mission of hope
Every day is a challenge. And we choose it every day, because we believe a different ending is possible.
Guardian of the Axolotl Certificate
When you actively participate in conservation —registering sightings, reporting environmental incidents, donating, volunteering or spreading the cause— you accumulate recognition within AxolotFinder and can earn the Guardian of the Axolotl Certificate, a document that accredits your direct contribution to the survival of Ambystoma mexicanum.
How to earn it
Register axolotl sightings on the platform
Report environmental incidents in the wetland
Participate as a volunteer in restoration projects
Make donations for conservation
Share and spread the cause on your networks
Every action counts. Every guardian is one more voice for the Mexican axolotl and for Xochimilco.
❤️ Join the cause
We don't want to build this project alone. We want you to be part of it.
You can participate as a volunteer, researcher, student, visitor, producer, donor, company, developer, photographer, teacher, or simply as someone who decided this story deserves a different ending.
Our Conservation Projects
Six initiatives for the axolotl, the wetland, and the community of Xochimilco.