Summer has arrived in full force, and we hope you are staying cool! July and August are also Colorado’s high ozone season, so we hope you’ll consider taking action to contribute to better air quality. We have lots of programs that you can enjoy in spite of the heat, including opting to take public transport on your daily commute, meeting our local goat herd that’s hard at work on our open space land, enjoying the new pollinator garden in Purple Park, and more. As always, thanks for being a part of making Superior a sustainable, resilient, and vibrant community!

- Town of Superior Sustainability Team

Did you know that almost 85% of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are due to day-to-day commutes?

Summer is Colorado's high ozone season, so to help support better air quality, RTD is offering zero fares across its system in July and August as part of the Zero Fare for Better Air initiative! Instead of driving on your commute every day, commit to #JustSkip2 car trips each week by using RTD public transit, and you can help the Front Range achieve significant air quality, health, environmental, and economic benefits.

To keep track of local ozone and air quality information, you can visit the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's (CDPHE)  daily air quality monitoring dashboard, get alerts for poor air quality days by texting "BETTERAIRCO" to 21000, or sign up for e-mail alerts.

Resource Central's Slow the Flow program can help you understand your watering system's efficiency with a free consultation. You'll gain knowledge about your system, get a customized watering schedule, and reduce water waste with their on-site, no-cost sprinkler evaluations available to Superior residents.

Inspections last about 75 minutes but could help you save thousands of gallons of water each year. It's easy to sign up and get long-lasting results; visit Resource Central's website to sign up.

The Town also offers a Water Efficiency Rebate Program, which provides residents rebates for water-conserving home upgrades. This can include low-flow showerheads and toilets, upgrading outdoor watering to efficient drip irrigation systems, and more. For more information and rebate applications, visit the Town's Water Efficiency Rebate Program page.

Have you heard about the new kids in town? They are baa-utiful! Join Goat Bros, LLC, who manages the goat herd in Harney-Lastoka Open Space, for a morning of fun at Coalton Trailhead (3495 McCaslin Blvd.) on Saturday, July 29 and August 19 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

At these events, you can get up close and personal with the goat herd protecting part of our western boundary from wildfire and enhancing biodiversity! Selah Sweets will have an assortment of baked goods available for purchase and cups of food to feed the goats will be available for $2. 

Have you seen the new plants by Purple Park? Town staff partnered with Boulder County Youth Corps to remove turf along Rock Creek Parkway and add native plants to support pollinator habitat.

In addition to helping water conservation efforts, these gardens help meet the Town's Sustainability Action Plan goals to expand the planting of pollinator-friendly native plants in parks and public landscapes where feasible and engage youth in sustainability and environmental projects year-round.

As the saying goes with native plants, the first year they sleep, the second they creep, and the third year they leap. While the plants are small now, we look forward to enjoying them for years to come!

As we reach the peak months of summer, we would love to see pictures of your thriving home Xeriscape gardens! The Town encourages low-water and Xeric landscaping in home yards, and we’ve been happy to see them popping up around our community.

Email us a picture of your garden and a brief description, and we’ll select a few to highlight in our upcoming newsletters. If you don’t yet have a Xeric garden but are interested in starting one, check out Resource Central’s step-by-step guide, or consider the Garden in a Box program for Xeriscaping made easy.

A new online form developed by the Keep it Clean Partnership makes it easy for Superior residents to report water pollution in our community. Residents can help municipal staff identify sources of water pollution to protect waterways in 4 easy steps:

1. Learn what to report
2. Take a photo when you see pollution
3. Access the Report Pollution form on your phone or computer (scroll down past “Is it an Emergency”)
4. Upload your photo and provide as much detail as possible

Your report will be sent to stormwater staff who are trained to identify and mitigate pollution sources to protect waterways. Thank you for helping us protect our watershed!

This section in our newsletter focuses on one waste-related topic in Superior. To keep it simple, remember the 4 R’s: Reduce the amount of waste you produce, Reuse items as much as you can before replacing them, Repair and Recycle items wherever possible.

Spotlight: Superior’s Yard Waste Site

Did you know that there is a yard waste site that is open to all Superior residents? Residents can bring grass clippings, small branches (6 inches or less in diameter), leaves and other small organic yard material to the site year-round, free of charge. Please note that larger items, like large branches, sod, and lumber, are not accepted and should be disposed of elsewhere. The collected yard waste is then processed into compost. Keeping yard waste out of the trash has positive benefits for the climate.

You can visit Superior's Yard Waste Site at 2125 Honey Creek Lane on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to dusk and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to dusk. For more information, please visit the Superior Yard Waste Site webpage.

Are you enjoying the Sustainability newsletter? Did you know the Town also sends a Historical Commission, Parks & Recreation, and Superior Sentinel newsletter? You can also subscribe to receive Superior Community Center updates, Town Board information, Marshall Fire news, and more. For more information and to view your preferences, visit the Town's email subscription page.