encouraging on-campus recycling

These recycling bins at the Taos Branch are an efficient way to dispose appropriately - Plastic Bottles (Green Bin) and Cans (Blue Bin). In my perspective this is an encouraging way for UNM students to also do it from the comfort of their homes. This is a practice that I've been doing for the last month or so, until I decided to drink from reusable water bottles.

Contribution by Jose Gonzalez, March 2015

fun in reusing

The Kit Carson Park play structure is made from recycled plastic containers, aluminum cans, and soup cans.

Contribution by Jose Gonzalez, March 2015

Whole community resilience - from the prairie dog community

The water from mountain snows would simply run into the river and float away from our local aquifers if not for some often undervalued neighbors in our community, the prairie dog (genus Cynomys). Prairie dog tunnel systems channel rainwater into the water table which prevents runoff and erosion, and can also change the composition of the soil in a region by reversing soil compaction that can be a result of cattle grazing. Their burrows aerate the ground, helping to cool it, which improves root health and encourages plant growth. These little locals are icons of resilience.

 

By Christopher Heron, March 2015

Data and image references:
Hoogland, J.L. (1995) The Black- tailed Prairie Dog: Social Life of a Burrowing Mammal, Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Image - Jackson, L. D. "Sunday Hunt for Links – Prairie Dog Edition." Political Realities. N.p., 14 Nov. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.

Orographic Opportunities

One ubiquitous sign of resilience here are the mountains. They protect our valley from tornadoes and cyclones. They catch passing weather and keep our water table full. They provide fuel, food and medicine with the flora and fauna they house. Mountain streams enable successful farming here, and mountain pastures help keep ranch animals healthy.  For our modern culture, they offer a plethora of marketable activities for tourism which, in and of itself, is a wealth stream of opportunity for our community. 

By Christopher Heron, February 2015

Columbine bridge building

Bridge building in wilderness - life of bridge expected to be at least 20 yrs.

Building this bridge has made the hiking trail easier to negotiate. It invites us to cross - to keep walking up the trail, taking it in. By maintaining trails on public lands we ensure the integrity of the area. Staying on trails and crossing streams with care can help protect surrounding fragile banks and  hillsides. One may go to these places to enjoy them, to know them. But by looking after them we can continue. The pathways and bridges into national forests and wilderness areas invite us to keep exploring.  

 By Mike Malixi, Feb 2015

refill reuse rethink

Reusing our containers = more resilient 

than buying new 

when we use water filling stations 

(around Taos and elsewhere).

 Photo by Mike Malixi, Feb 2015
  

Spotting resiliency around Taos

These are the solar panels at the Eco Park on Salazar road. I was told these panels help supply electricity to the Eco Park (a high altitude soccer training center), which brings in revenue because people train there for serious competitions (because of the altitude). The state averages 360 sunny days a year and with some effort we can harness that solar power. 

The Taos Eco Park is earning its name, February 9, 2012 
JR Logan, The Taos News, writes:

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative celebrated the completion of a 60-kilowatt solar canopy installed in the parking lot of the turf field on Salazar Road with a ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 1, 2012.

The array was designed to generate enough electricity to power stadium lights for three fields at the Eco-Park. The town has completed the first field, with other phases pending.

Ideally, the solar panels would store electricity during the day that could be used to light the fields at night. Power from the panels now goes into the co-op’s electric grid.

Taos Recycling center

Some people may feel the recycling center is limited in its ability to recycle different things and that it ships many things out of town to be recycled. But I think it is a great start in the ability to have residents of an area have the opportunity to discard potentially reusable/recyclable items that otherwise end up in the dump.

By Darah Spencer, February 2015