Northern Water Promotes Landscape Education

Surrounded by flowers and with a breathtaking view of , members of the community not only get to take in a beautiful landscape at ’s Conservation Garden; they also get to learn about water.

“Water conservation in our region is essential,” said Jill Boyd, communications specialist for Northern Water. “Visiting our gardens gives homeowners a very practical idea of what they can do to conserve water. Beyond the , it is very beautiful out there.”

Located behind the district at 220 . in Berthoud, the 2.5-acre garden — which Northern Water employees nicknamed “the backyard” — is broken into sectors to educate residents on landscaping and the best way to maintain yards with minimal .

, visitors have the opportunity to learn about different types of grass and what works well in the , and sprinkler technologies, soil revitalization, the conservation’s and new types of gardening tools.

A portion of the garden also is devoted to , or that uses a minimal amount of water. This area is broken into eight miniature units that show examples of how yards can be landscaped.

“The backyard helps to combat the notion that that doesn’t use a lot of water is not attractive,” Boyd said. “You can see that you can use less water and still have a very eye-catching .”

Northern Water maintains at least 250 species of plant life in its backyard area each year.

“Every year, we try to add about 67 plants,” said , water management and for Northern Water. “The garden is designed so it can be changed out.”

Also included in the tour of the area is an featuring various ponds that represent Northern Water’s reservoirs. In two agricultural areas, irrigation technology and alfalfa species are tested.

The garden is open 24 hours a day, year-round. During the summer months, tours are available upon request from 2 to 4 p.m., and tours for larger groups can be arranged.

Community members who want to stroll through the garden on their own can bring a cell phone. By dialing numbers posted around the garden, they can listen to free descriptions of the processes and research taking place.

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Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

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Valley cities help you get rid of Christmas trees

This year, Phoenix teamed with A to Z Equipment Rentals %26 Sales to provide dropoff points for single trees today through Jan. 6, free for city residents.

Trees should be placed in designated areas near special collection bins, officials said.

The sites are:

��Deer Valley Park, 19th Avenue and Utopia Road.

�� Park, 56th Street and Sweetwater Avenue.

��Paradise Valley Park, 40th Street, south of Union Hills Drive.

�� Park, 38th Avenue and Road.

��Mountain View Park, 7th Avenue south of Peoria Avenue

��Marivue Park, Osborn Road and 59th Avenue.

��Washington Park, Maryland and 23rd Avenue.

��Madison Park, Glenrosa Avenue and 16th Street.

��Los Olivos Park, Devonshire Avenue and 28th Street.

��Desert West Park, Encanto Boulevard and 67th Avenue.

��El Reposo Park, 7th Street and Alta Vista Road.

��Cesar Chavez Park, 35th Avenue and Baseline Road.

Single trees also will be accepted at Phoenix transfer stations at 3060 S. 27th Ave. (south of Lower Buckeye Road), and at 30205 N. Black Canyon Freeway (exit I-17 at Happy Valley Road, exit roundabout at East Frontage Road, north three miles).

Sites are open 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends. The 27th Avenue site is closed Sundays. Both sites are closed New Year’s Day. The service is free to Phoenix residents.

A to Z Equipment will accept trees at no charge today through Jan 5, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Dec. 30 and 31, 9 a.m. to noon, and it is closed New Year’s Day. Phoenix stores are at 4050 E. Indian School Rd. and 15634 N. 32 St.

A sample of other cities plans:

Peoria

Peoria Solid Waste Services offers customers free curbside Christmas-tree collections beginning Jan. 4. Residents may phone the Solid Waste division, 623-773-7431, for pickup dates and other information. Only one stop will be made per zone, officials said.

Glendale

Glendale residents may drop off Christmas trees at seven sites until through Jan. 13:

��Acoma Park, 53rd Avenue and Acoma Drive.

��Fire Station 156, 67th Avenue and Deer Valley Road.

��Foothills Park, 57th Avenue and Union Hills Drive.

��O’Neil Park, 64th and Missouri avenues.

��Rose Lane Park, 51st and Marlette avenues.

��Sahuaro Ranch Park, 63rd Avenue and Mountain View Road.

��Western Area Regional Park: 83rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road.

Gilbert

Residents may donate living holiday trees for replanting in Gilbert parks and open space areas.

Residents can schedule tree dropoffs by calling 480-503-6400.

The town has also joined with A to Z Rentals for free holiday recycling for cut trees, which the city will turn into mulch for landscaping.

Free dropoffs are available through Jan. 6 at these locations:

��A to Z Rentals, 1313 E. Baseline.

��Gilbert Soccer Complex, 4260 S. Greenfield Road.

��Nichols Park, 700 N. Higley Road.

Ahwatukee

Tree drop-off locations are open from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends through Jan. 6. Trees should be placed in the designated areas where special collection bins are located

��Mountain Vista Park, 50th Street north of Ray Road.

��Desert Foothills Park, Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard.

Information: 602-262-7251 or phoenix.gov/publicworks.

Chandler

Christmas tree pick-up runs through Jan. 11. Trees can be collected on regular recycling collection day or residents may schedule a free curbside bulk collection by calling 480-782-3510. Trees must be placed at the edge of the driveway by 6 a.m. on the day of collection.

Residents may also drop off Christmas trees through Jan 13 at West Chandler Park, Desert Breeze Park, Arrowhead Meadows Park, Shawnee Park, Pima Park, Folley , Chuparosa Park, Snedigar Sportsplex, Tumbleweed Park and the Solid Waste Transfer Facility.

Mesa

Residents may bring drop off Christmas trees free for recycling 24 hours a day through Jan. 13:

��Solid Waste Management Department, 730 N. Mesa Drive.

��East Mesa Service Center, 6935 E. Decatur St.

��Superstition Springs Police/Fire Substation, 2430 S. Ellsworth Road.

��Mountain View Park, 845 N. Lindsay Road.

��Dobson Ranch Park, 2363 S. Dobson Road.

Residents may take trees directly to the Salt River Landfill at Gilbert Road and the Beeline Highway between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Mesa residents need a current Arizona driver’s license. Curbside pickup also is available for $10 and must be requested by Jan. 4. Contact the Solid Waste Management Department at 480-644-2688 for more information or to schedule a pickup. More information: www.cityofmesa.org/waste.

Mesa also accepts donations of live potted trees, which will be planted in Mesa parks. Live trees 5 feet or taller will be accepted at any Mesa fire station.

Tempe

Trees can be dropped off through Jan. 20:

��Household Products Collection Center,1320 E. University Drive, open 7 a.m. to noon Fridays and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

��Kiwanis Park Recreation Center, 6111 S. All-America Way, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The city also will pick up trees as part of the scheduled monthly January collection for brush and bulky items.

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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

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