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Composting, sustainability news, events, plumbing videos, & more!
Composting: Breaking It Down to the Basics
Read our November Sustainability Savings Tip [PDF] for easy steps to turn green waste into mulch.
 Our tip features:
- What defines browns & greens in your compost pile
- Tricks to speeding up the composting process
- How to get a $5 composter for your backyard
How Does Composting Reduce Greenhouse Gases?
Composting is far more than just free fertilizer for the garden. It’s a vital and necessary sustainability strategy for reducing waste, closing the nutrient cycle, and preventing air pollution that causes climate change. When food scraps, coffee grounds, and yard waste are sent to a landfill, they ends up decomposing anaerobically—or without oxygen. This process creates methane, a greenhouse gas 20-35 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Composting is one of the most powerful actions we can take to reduce our trash, address climate change, and build healthy soil. Learn more in Mesa's Climate Action Plan.
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Planting Event Restores Native Sonoran Desert Landscaping at Superstition Springs Center The City of Mesa, community partners and volunteers planted trees and shrubs as part of a landscape restoration event on Nov. 14 to bring more shade and environmental improvements to the Superstition Springs Transit Center. Located along the highly traveled US60 in Mesa, this center...
 Note: All of the trees planted at the event will be registered on the Trees Are Cool map. You can record any trees that you've recently planted at our Mesa Listens 'Trees Are Cool' page.
New Plant Square Footage Calculator Simplifies Grass-to-Xeriscape Conversion Process The City of Mesa has launched a new one-of-a-kind tool, the Plant Square Footage Calculator. The calculator simplifies the process for homeowners who are planning a grass conversion and developing a landscape plan to take advantage of the city's Grass-to-Xeriscape Landscape Incentive. The calculator has many useful features...
 Note: Incentives are also available for commercial properties and HOAs.
More News...
Mesa Celebrates Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for The Post Downtown Mesa now has The Post, a new City-owned community and event space that involved the architectural restoration and transformation of Mesa's first Class-1 post office, located at 26 N. Macdonald, which operated in the building from 1936 to 1970. The building...
CMC Celebrates the Dedication of New Micro Mill in Mesa CMC (Commercial Metals Company), along with state and local officials and their honored guests, have gathered for the dedication of CMC's new micro mill located in Mesa. The mill is CMC's third micro mill and will be among the most environmentally friendly steelmaking operations in the world.
Landscape Watering Guidelines & Tips Find our November watering frequencies, fall planting ideas, a buy one-get one free coupon for a desert plant at a participating nursery, and how to build a rain garden.
Plant of the Month - Cascalote Want beautiful foliage, spectacular flowers all packaged up in a tree that blooms in fall and winter? Well, let me introduce you to a medium-sized tree with a funny name: Cascalote...
Grass facts to help you re-evaluate your yard There has been a lot of discussion on grass and its place in our desert climate. With most of our water use occurring in our yards and landscapes...
Once it was hailed as a drought fix — but now California’s moving to restrict synthetic turf over health concerns This year Democrats in the Legislature went in a different direction, proposing bills that would discourage synthetic turf. They’re worried about health risks created by the chemicals present in these lawns, including...
 Nov 25, 10 am to 1 pm, Growing with Mesa Urban Garden. We'll be joining Mercado Mesa (note they are going from 10 am to 4 pm) to help celebrate Small Business Saturday. Find us at 212 E 1st Avenue. Mesa Urban Garden will be offering:
- Tours of the Garden
- Composting How-Tos
- Ask-A-Master Gardener
- Raffle Prizes
Get your holiday company outdoors and stop by the Mercado for shopping and fun. Find us in our patio area to say hi, ask questions, and tour the beautiful garden!
Learn more about Mercado Mesa.
Nov 28, 5 to 9 pm, Green Living Best of Arizona 2023. Join Green Living Magazine and celebrate the people and companies making Arizona more sustainable! Winners that were chosen by readers will be honored at this awards celebration that will include delectable bites from sustainable restaurant winners, locally-made beverages, and more. Located at Southwest Experience Center in Scottsdale. Learn more and get tickets.
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Here are some fun updates on sustainability projects taking place across Mesa...
How It Started... 2021
In the fall of 2021, ECO Mesa broke ground. Located in the heart of downtown Mesa, this sustainable apartment community offers studio, 1- and 2-bedroom homes powered by the sun. Besides the rooftop solar, eco features include easy access to light rail, energy use monitoring, bikeshare and carshare, and EV charging stations.
 How It's Going... 2023
Natural living meets urban convenience! Construction has been completed - watch for details on their Instagram page to learn more about the Grand Opening of ECO Mesa taking place on November 28. Leasing has officially opened and units are available.
How It Started... November 2022
A raised bed located at Mesa Urban Garden was in great need of refurbishment. Originally built in 2013, the bed's purpose is to provide gardening space that is wheelchair accessible and for gardeners with decreased mobility. Just last year, in this newsletter, we promoted that Mesa Urban Garden was asking for donations to rebuild the bed. We shared the fund-raising efforts taking place through Seed Money and other means.
 How It's Going... November 2023
We are pleased to say that our amazing community came through. Donations were collected through Seed Money, from the East Valley Garden Club, and more. In fact, an entire group of coworkers from Multistudio organized contractors and spent hours of time including sweat and hard work to complete the rebuild with much more durable materials. We're sure that the bed will be lasting much longer than 10 years this next round. The bed was replanted in late summer and looks amazing.
Do-It-Yourself Plumbing Videos - now showing!!
With the holidays on their way it's time to get those household leaks fixed (well, it's always time). Dripping faucet? Leaky toilet? We can help! The City of Mesa had a blast partnering with the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) to create a series of short Do-It-Yourself videos. Each one will help you identify and fix simple plumbing issues to save you water and money. Find all six videos!
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Job Opening, Part-Time Conservation Specialist – Urban Forestry
City of Mesa’s Environmental & Sustainability Department is looking for a Conservation Specialist – Urban Forestry with great organizational skills, great communication skills, training, education, and/or experience to assist with Mesa’s urban and community forest program, projects, and events. Learn more.
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Free Plant Stands Similar to Little Free Libraries
Free Plant N Garden Stands is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing the joy of gardening to everyone! They help set up stands for the surrounding neighborhood to share seeds, plant starters, garden produce, gardening supplies, tools and more.
Check out their guidelines for visiting stands and find the stand map on the website. Once you're on the map, click on the Central Arizona tab to see Mesa and nearby locations.
Work off some calories with these fun ideas for getting out of the house over the Thanksgiving Holiday:
Desert Arroyo Park, 9320 E McKellips Rd. This beautiful 58-acre parcel of native desert uplands is located at the northeast corner of McKellips and Ellsworth Roads. The park takes full advantage of the site’s natural desert landscape with a passive park focusing on experiencing the native desert.
Park of the Canals, 1710 N Horne. This hidden gem of 31 acres got its name because it is the location of prehistoric (Hohokam period), historic, and modern canals. There is also a playground and botanical garden and walk at the site.
Desert Trails Park, 2955 N Recker Rd. Includes a series of biking trails, a pump track, and a kids’ skills track. The trails consist of a ¾-mile perimeter trail for hiking and non-motorized bike use.
Downtown Mesa. Check out the Saturday Farmers Market (now located at Inspire Farms shown in photo above), delicious restaurants, breweries/taprooms, museums, ice skating rink, Merry Main Street (starting Nov. 24), and more.
Be sure to visit the i.d.e.a. Museum, the AZ Museum of Natural History, Mesa Grande Cultural Park, and the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in downtown Mesa.
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- Learn to Live Green -
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