The Office of Sustainability for the Town of Silver City recently received a grant from Keep New Mexico Beautiful, Inc. to purchase plants for public spaces. This grant is benefiting the local economy by purchasing native plants from a local nursery, Lone Mountain Natives, LLC, that has also provided extensive consultation and guidance. Another local benefit is having local youth groups involved in the planting.

Keep New Mexico Beautiful is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting and educating New Mexicans about beautification, xeriscape, graffiti eradication, litter control, recycling, community stewardship, volunteerism and pride in our state. They have helped fund other beautification projects at schools and other public spaces around Silver City in the past.

Last Friday students with the Community Youth Building program worked over the fall break to plant native shrubs and install drip irrigation at Memory Lane Cemetery. This will complement the ongoing plans to beautify the tire bale wall with mural work by the Youth Mural Project.

Other recent projects have included planting pollinator-attracting native flowers in the Orchard behind the Office of Sustainability. This was done by Youth Conservation Corps students at Aldo Leopold High School under supervision of Grace Van Ness, an intern in the Office of Sustainability. Partners in the development of the orchard were the Office of Sustainability, Stream Dynamics, Lone Mountain Natives and the Community Orchard Project.

Two areas in Gough Park received rosemary, coral bells, and columbines. This planting involved local Cub Scout Pack 110. Local community volunteer Gary Stailey provided guidance for the pack on how to plant.

Additional plantings are planned in some of the recently constructed curb cuts to divert storm water from Highway 180 West into median areas and at the Office of Sustainability. The Town of Silver City Office of Sustainability, located at 1106 N. Pope St. is involved in numerous projects to help Silver City and its residents become a resilient and adaptable community prepared for the future. The office is also a convenient place to learn about recycling options and get information about energy efficiency and water conservation. Office hours are typically 8-5 Monday - Thursday and the phone number is 597-8989.