Introducing Taylor Hohensee
The Sustainability Division is thrilled to add a new team member! Taylor Hohensee joins us as a Sustainability Specialist focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Read on to learn about Taylor and please join us in welcoming him to Santa Fe County!
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I am delighted to join the County as a Sustainability Specialist!
Growing up in central Texas, my family would take occasional camping trips to various state parks. These trips cemented my love of the outdoors and in turn my desire to work for the environment. As I attended college at Texas State University for a Geography degree focusing on Natural Resource Management, my classwork took this passion and gave it teeth. I quickly took what I learned in the classroom and applied it to working on restoring an endangered wild rice, often while scuba diving! After school, I moved out west to Utah and Colorado for water resource based field jobs with the Bureau of Land Management, and Forest Service. This work put me on the ground working long physical days learning about water management up close and personal while we sampled streams, alpine lakes and restored degraded wetlands.
My love of the desert landscape, a good green chile, and the abundance of outdoor opportunities (Say hi if you see me riding my bike or hiking about!) pulled me to Santa Fe 3 years ago to work with the NM State Engineer. As a Water Resource Professional, I expanded my geospatial data skills and knowledge of prior appropriation water rights in New Mexico and quickly learned there is so much to love here. The rich history of this place and the community oriented atmosphere gets me excited to help build sustainable solutions that fit into the New Mexico way of life.
My diverse natural resource background and data analysis skills will come in handy as I dive into the energy efficiency, solarization, and water projects that lie ahead for the Sustainability Division. I am excited to get to work with my great colleagues and community to build a resilient and sustainably thriving Santa Fe County.
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Save the Date for Earth Day!
The team at Santa Fe County has been busy planning a special event to celebrate Earth Day! Staff are collaborating with RainCatcher Inc. and the Santa Fe Extension Master Gardeners to install a brand new rain garden at the County Fairgrounds. We invite you to join us on April 22nd for a morning of learning, gardening, and more as we put the finishing touches on the rain garden! Event details and registration information are forthcoming. Click here for updates!
The County is currently accepting applications from community organizations focused on sustainability or environmental education to have a table at the Earth Day event. Applications are due April 10, 2023. Click here to apply!
About the planned Fairgrounds rain garden
The extensive rooftops and paved parking areas at the Fairgrounds make this site an excellent location for water harvesting. Runoff is generated as rain and snowmelt flows over parking lots, rooftops, and other impervious surfaces. As it moves across the landscape, runoff can wash pet waste, motor oil, trash, and other pollutants into waterways. Polluted runoff is considered a significant threat to water quality in the United States, yet properly managed runoff can serve as an important water source in Santa Fe County’s dry climate. Santa Fe County received a little over 16 inches of precipitation in 2022. This means that last year a 1,000 square foot roof would have collected more than 10,000 gallons of water!
Traditional gray infrastructure (like gutters and pipes) typically move stormwater off the landscape. Green infrastructure, on the other hand, include techniques to use biological systems to capture and treat runoff in place. Rain gardens are just one example of green infrastructure. These gardens consist of sunken planted areas that collect runoff from nearby impervious surfaces and allow it to naturally soak into the ground. Rain gardens can help to filter out harmful pollutants, provide habitat for wildlife, beautify neighborhoods, and support shade trees with minimal supplemental irrigation. The Fairgrounds garden will capture runoff from adjacent paved areas and buildings to create a lovely green gathering space!
Learn more about water-wise landscaping and other sustainability initiatives at the County Earth Day event on April 22nd!
Get Started with Composting!
Want to help the planet and your garden this spring? Try composting!
Composting is a process by which organic materials (like food scraps and yard trimmings) are “recycled” into a rich soil amendment. In 2018, over one third of municipal solid waste consisted of food and yard trimmings. Food alone made up nearly one quarter of the municipal solid waste that was sent to landfills! Organic materials emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, after being compacted in landfills and decomposing in the absence of oxygen. Composting can help to keep organic materials out of the landfill. During the composting process, organic materials are broken down naturally by microorganisms in the presence of oxygen. The end product, finished compost, is an earthy-smelling soil amendment that can help soils retain water and nourish plants.
In addition to the numerous environmental benefits, composting can also save County residents time and money by reducing the volume of trash they need to bring to County solid waste convenience centers!
Ready to get started? You can build your own compost system from straw bales (pictured above), or wire fencing. There are also numerous store-bought options, including black plastic bins (pictured above) and compost tumblers. Your compost pile will need a mix of materials that are high in nitrogen and high in carbon. Fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen are an excellent source of nitrogen, while paper and leaves will add carbon to your compost pile. Avoid putting meat, bones, fats, and oils in your home compost pile. Turn your compost pile every few weeks to supply oxygen to the microorganisms that are breaking down materials. You may also need to occasionally add water to your compost pile in our dry climate. The pile should be about as wet as a damp sponge. Visit the Sustainability website for more tips!
The Sustainability Division is gearing up to launch a program to provide free composting systems to residents of Santa Fe County on a first come first served basis. You must have a valid County solid waste permit to apply. This typically means that you do not have a curbside trash pick-up service and instead dispose of your trash and recycling at one of the County’s six convenience centers. The application will be made available in the coming weeks. Check the Sustainability Division website for updates!
Happy composting!
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