Connect in Nature

A Book Talk and Presentation
By Susan Guyette and Earl D. James

Thursday, September 22
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Main Library Community Room
145 Washington Ave.

Authors Susan Guyette, Zen Birding: Connect in Nature, and Earl D. James, Bella Coola: The Rainforest Brought Them Home, will hold a book talk and discussion on the coming cultural shift needed for planetary action, Eastern and Native American spirituality, birdwatching, and the importance of habitat conservation.

Ms. Guyette's Zen Birding portrays birdwatching as one path to connect with Mother Earth, as well as to recognize the balance of her ecosystems. Mr. James' eco-novel, Bella Coola, probes the spiritual fault lines of our civilization in crisis.

This program is free and open to the public.

E-Waste Recycling Drop Off Day

One Day Only
Saturday, August 27
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
1142 Siler Road
955-2215

Sponsors:
Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, the City of Santa Fe, and Albuquerque Recycling Inc.

You can bring:

• TVs ($10 disposal fee: cash only)


• CRT computer monitors ($5 disposal fee: cash only)


• Computers, servers and laptops


• Flat screen monitors


• Printers and scanners


• Fax machines


• Telephones and cell phones


• Palm Pilots and other hand-held electronic devices


• Lead acid batteries, computer back-up batteries, UPS batteries


• TV satellite equipment


• VCRs and CD players


• Stereo equipment


• Computer and TV game assemblies


• Cameras and video cameras

Not accepted:

• Coffee makers


• Alkaline batteries


• Hair dryers


• Bread machines


• Light bulbs of any kind


• Cardboard or paper


• Appliances including microwave ovens


• Household hazardous waste

Appliance Drop Off Day

Saturday, August 20
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
1142 Siler Road

Santa Fe residents can drop off refrigerators, freezers, ovens, dishwashers, water heaters, washers and dryers at Siler Road free of charge. Other appliances, including scrap metal rims (without the tires please) and metal construction debris will all be accepted. Vacuums and carpet cleaners will not be accepted.
After 1 pm, items can be taken to Capitol Scrap Metal at 1162 Cooks Lane.

Appliance Drop-Off Day is co-sponsored by Keep Santa Fe Beautiful (KSFB), the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County.

For more information, contact Montaño at 955-2215, or by email at Sfbeautiful@santafenm.gov. Visit Keep Santa Fe Beautiful on Facebook or online at http://www.keepsantafebeautiful.org/.

Get Rid of Green Waste

FREE Clean-Up to Promote Wildfire Protection
June 25
8:00 am and 4:45 pm


Santa Fe City and County residents can take their green waste to the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station (BuRRT), 2600 Buckman Road for FREE between 8:00 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 25. Residents are advised to clean green waste around their homes that could present a fire hazard and dispose of it for FREE on June 25. Green waste includes dried leaves, grasses, weeds, tree limbs and brush. Items such as household trash or appliances will NOT be free. This event is sponsored by the City and County of Santa Fe and Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency.

Here are some tips to protect your home and neighborhood:

Protect your property from wildfire and clean your yard to create a 30 foot defensible space to ensure ground fuels are well groomed so fire does not easily spread.

Trim and limb trees and bushes if possible so the low ground fire cannot climb and spread by crowning in the tree tops.

Keep yard waste picked up and dispose of waste properly.

Ensure that propane tanks and grills are not within 30 feet of your home.

Move wood piles away from homes and decks.

Mow weeds and lawns and remove dried leaves, pine needles, weeds and other dead vegetation.

Use non-flammable landscaping materials such as rock, pavers, annuals and high-moisture-content perennials within five feet of your home.

If you live in a moderate to high hazard wildland area, consider fire-resistant patio furniture, swing sets and accessories.

Fire restrictions are in place in the City and the County. The use of all outdoor ignition sources including smoking, charcoal grills, campfires, weed and crop burning are strictly prohibited. Please be diligent when using power tools outdoors and remember to use a spark arrester. Do not park a hot motor vehicle in areas covered with dry vegetation, weeds and grasses.

For more information:
City residents contact City of Santa Fe Fire Prevention at (505) 955-3310

County residents contact Santa Fe County Fire Prevention, (505) 995-6523 or http://www.santafecountyfire.org/.

Photo of wildfire courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

National Academy Freebies

A popular saying among librarians is "information wants to be free". Whether we mean it as free as in unfettered, or free as in no-cost, can depend on the situation. But either way, no-cost, easily-accessible, not-charging-a-dime, click-of-a-mouse information is a wonderful thing.

So it's incredibly exciting that the National Academies are making a lot of their information, you guessed it, FREE! Over 4,000 reports and books from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council will now be available as free PDFs. Topics are numerous and include Biology, Education, Social Sciences, and Environmental Studies. Just head to the National Academies Press website, and see what sort of free information tickles your intellect.

April Great American Cleanup™ Events!

Electronic Waste Drop Off Day
One Day Only
Saturday, April 2
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
1142 Siler Road
955-2215

Sponsors:
Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, the City of Santa Fe, and Albuquerque Recycling Inc.

You can bring:

• TVs ($10 disposal fee: cash only)
• CRT computer monitors ($5 disposal fee: cash only)
• Computers, servers and laptops
• Flat screen monitors
• Printers and scanners
• Fax machines
• Telephones and cell phones
• Palm Pilots and other hand-held electronic devices
• Lead acid batteries, computer back-up batteries, UPS batteries
• TV satellite equipment
• VCRs and CD players
• Stereo equipment
• Computer and TV game assemblies
• Cameras and video cameras

Not accepted:

• Coffee makers
• Alkaline batteries
• Hair dryers
• Bread machines
• Light bulbs of any kind
• Cardboard or paper
• Appliances including microwave ovens
• Household hazardous waste

Other events in April:

Appliance Drop Off Day
April 9
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
1142 Siler Road
On this day Santa Fe residents can drop off refrigerators, freezers, ovens, dishwashers, water heaters, washers and dryers in addition to appliances scrap metal rims (without the tires) and metal construction debris. After 1pm, items can be taken to Capitol Scrap Metal at 1162 Cooks Lane.


Great American Cleanup™
April 30
On this day volunteers young and old help clean up our city streets, parks, arroyos, and school grounds or even their neighborhoods. Afterwards, KSFB hosts a picnic to thank our many hard-working volunteers. Registration is from 7-9 am at 1142 Siler Road or on the Keep Santa Fe Beautiful website. Cleanup is until 12 noon.

For more information, go to the Keep Santa Fe Beautiful website.

Fall Nature Fiesta ~ Fiesta Natural de Otoño

In Bandelier National Monument

September 25
11:00am - 2:00pm

Enjoy the outdoors and learn about bird banding, play science games, and run in relay races. Plus, see live birds of prey from the Santa Fe Raptor Center. Best of all, all these activities are totally free of charge on this fee-free day!

Schedule of the event - Programación del evento:

Science games - Juegos de ciencia
Live raptors from the Santa Fe Raptor Center - Aves rapaces del centro de rapaces de Santa Fe
Bird banding demonstration - Demostración de anillamiento de aves
Binocular training - Entrenamiento para el uso de binoculares
Relay races - Carrera de relevos
Bird search – Buscando aves
Memory - Memoria
Lottery - Loteria
Crosswords - Crucigramas
Word search - Sopa de letras
Painting bird pictures - Pintar dibujos de aves
Question game - Juego de preguntas
Board games - Juegos de mesa

For more information, call 505-672-3861 ext. 517, or visit Bandelier's website or Facebook page.

E-Waste Recycling Drop Off Day

One Day Only
Saturday, August 21
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
1142 Siler Road
955-2215

Sponsors:
Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, the City of Santa Fe, and Albuquerque Recycling Inc.

You can bring:

• TVs ($10 disposal fee: cash only)
  
• CRT computer monitors ($10 disposal fee: cash only)
  
• Computers, servers and laptops


• Flat screen monitors


• Printers and scanners


• Fax machines


• Telephones and cell phones


• Palm Pilots and other hand-held electronic devices


• Lead acid batteries, computer back-up batteries, UPS batteries


• TV satellite equipment


• VCRs and CD players


• Stereo equipment


• Computer and TV game assemblies


• Cameras and video cameras

Not accepted:

• Coffee makers


• Alkaline batteries


• Hair dryers


• Bread machines


• Light bulbs of any kind


• Cardboard or paper


• Appliances including microwave ovens


• Household hazardous waste

Pollination – Encaustic Works From New Mexico

Grand Opening

June 25
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Open to the Public

Arts Commission Community Gallery
201 W. Marcy St. at Sheridan
In the Santa Fe Community Convention Center

The Community Gallery, in Collaboration with the Santa Fe Botanical Garden and Ecoversity, will feature an exhibition presenting the wonder of encaustic painting as well as educational and inspired programming regarding the history and myriad encaustic techniques available to artists in that media, which relies on bees wax. Inherent in the subject matter of this exhibit are the numerous environmental impacts of civilization on bee populations and their role in our lives as vital pollinators. Over 20 artists in encaustic media will offer a full range of work that expresses both the beauty of the materials they use as well as the exacting nature of encaustic work. Numerous community events will connect visitors more closely to the natural environment through informative workshops/presentations and community education. The show runs through August 20th.

The work of over 20 artists will be represented in the “Pollination” exhibit, with a variety of encaustic techniques, styles and price points. The exhibit will include work by: Trina Badarak, Paige Baillie, Martha Rea Baker, Kelly Barrett, Francisco Benitez, Helen Cozza, Linda Fillhardt, Christy Hengst, Maureen Howles, Sandra Lerner, Stephanie Lerma, Joyce Macrorie, Sallyann Paschall, Teena Robinson, Paula Roland, Diane Rolnick, Susan Shaffer, Russell Thurston, Harriette Tsosie, Shawn Turung, Paula Verona, Carol Ware and Susan Zimmerman.

Workshop/Demonstration Calendar in the Community Gallery
- FREE to the public!

Harriette Tsosie
Saturday, June 26, 1-4 pm
Harriette Tsosie will give a short talk on the history of encaustic (pigmented wax) painting and demonstrate her encaustic process. Tsosie has been painting with wax for seven years. She is president of the Encaustic Art Institute and is represented by the Institute as well as FLUX Contemporary, Albuquerque.

Sallyann Paschall
Saturday, July 24, 1-4 pm
Sallyann Paschall will do an encaustic demonstration of not only basic encaustic techniques but techniques that incorporate collage elements into encaustic work. The basic demonstration will be followed by a chance for the audience to experience encaustics for themselves. Each participant will be given a small block of wood with which to experiment. Each person may then take their newly made work of encaustic art home with them.

Russell Thurston
Saturday, August 7, 1-4 pm
One of the more challenging aspects of encaustic painting is creating fine details. Over the years, Russell has developed various ways of adding oil paints, oil sticks, and dry pigments to facilitate detail work. While these methods can be difficult to control and require some skill, they offer additional choices in encaustic painting.

More specifically, Russell will demonstrate:

1) How to etch or emboss the surface of an encaustic painting with various tools and then apply oils, oil sticks, or pigments.
2) How to handle the differences in how the oil media responds to heat versus how wax responds.
3) How to use wax paper to mask parts of the painting to create particular effects such as fine details.

For more information about the Community Gallery, visit http://www.santafeartscommission.org/, send an email to rdlambert@santafenm.gov or call 505-955-6705.

Community Gallery Hours of Operation:
Tuesday through Friday: 10 am to 5 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am to 5 pm

Dusty Roadrunner

for Earth Day Preschool Story Time

We love our library! Here at the Southside Library, Dusty Roadrunner, the mascot for Keep New Mexico Beautiful, Inc., a non-profit that promotes civic pride and beautification, visited again this year for our Earth Day theme for Preschool Story Time. We sang Earth Day rhymes, like “We’re not litterbugs.” Big story books were read on gardening, picking up trash, and stories about honoring our earth. These are big subjects for 2-5 year olds. But we make it fun, especially when we have guests like Dusty to support our teaching about love of books and reading and learning about everything under the stars. The children planted their own sweet pea seeds to take home for planting, and get their picture taken with Dusty. The mascot loves libraries, feels comfortable in them, as he does everywhere he goes.

Post and photo by TT @ SS

Geodesic Genius

R. Buckminster Fuller, 1895-1983, was a well-known philosopher, designer, inventor and more. Among laypeople, he's best known for his invention of the geodesic dome. While people who knew him refer to him as "Bucky", there's no denying that his works can be intimidating. So if you'd like an introduction to his life and work, but aren't quite ready for one of his tomes, the following video is a perfect place to start.

Keep Santa Fe Beautiful Clean-up Day

Volunteer on
Great American Clean-up Day!

Saturday, April 24
7:00 am - 2:00 pm

Registration 7-9 am at 1142 Siler Rd.

On this day, volunteers young and old help clean up our city streets, parks, arroyos and school grounds. Afterwards, Keep Santa Fe Beautiful hosts a picnic to thank our many hard-working volunteers.

For information call Gilda at 955-2215 or email gjmontano@santafenm.gov.

Earth Hour 2010

Last year we blogged about Earth Hour, where you turn off your lights and as much electricity as you can for a full hour in the evening. Tomorrow at 8:30 pm local time, try the challenge again!

For more information, check out the Earth Hour website and watch the following video:

E-Waste Recycling Drop Off Day

One Day Only
Saturday, March 20
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
1142 Siler Road
955-2215

Sponsors:
Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, the City of Santa Fe, and Albuquerque Recycling Inc.

You can bring:

• TVs ($5 charge per TV: cash only)
• Computers
• Laptop computers
• LCD screens
• Printers
• Stereos
• Phones
• Cell phones
  
• Computer battery back-ups
• Computer peripherals: mice, keyboards, and computer game assemblies

Not accepted:

• Microwave ovens
• Bread machines
• Appliances