Protecting Arizona Waters

It’s hard to overestimate the impact of water in our high desert environment as our own Donna Putschoegl so aptly said in her Talk of the Town article in the Prescott Daily Courier.

So Manzanita Village is teaming up with the Citizens Water Advisory Group (CWAG) and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Yavapai College to present a six-session course entitled, “Protecting Arizona Waters - A Personal Plan.” During the course, students will learn to use an environmental problem-solving model to evaluate local water issues. They will have an opportunity to evaluate their personal impact on water usage and to plan their own water stewardship efforts. The course will combine classroom instruction with field trips. In the classroom, local experts and politicians will discuss the status of Prescott area water resources and the local history of water usage and politics, as well as water conservation efforts. Field trips will give class participants opportunities to visit local sites engaged in water conservation, water catchment and wise water usage, as well as the chance to participate in a hands-on installation of water catchment devices. 

This course consists of six 2-hour sessions presented weekly on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 3 pm. Sessions will begin April 1 and continue through May 6. Registration begins the first week of March. Register on-line or call 717-7634 for more information.

Funding for the course has been provided by an EPA grant through Prescott College and its partners. 

New Firewise Grant!

We’ve been awarded $4,000 in Title III money in a 100% grant from Yavapai County. The awards need to be posted for public comment for 45 days so the grant should actually be funded in November with a 9/13 ending date.

We should also be getting an additional $10,000 from the SFA 50/50 grant from the AZ State Foresters Office. In this case we’ll get $5,000 in cash and need to provide $5,000 in in-kind payments (i.e. volunteer work). The actually funding date of this grant is uncertain but hopefully soon.

Both of these grants have come through our work with PAWUIC and are to complete our FireWise efforts.

Our New Hoop Garden!

Last fall the Manzanita Village Garden Club in conjunction with the Groundskeeping Committee wanted to move our primary garden off the terraces near our common house. We decided to build a hoop house on a long flat area along our pedestrian roadway. During the early part of this year, we were able to build a 12’ by 48’ hoop house with two long beds on either side of a central walkway. The hoop house is complete with animal-deterent fencing, work benches and a bird house. After the snow cleared from our late spring snowstorm of last weekend the plastic cover was installed so we can begin our early spring planting. We hope the plastic covers will protect the plants in the spring and fall and serve as a sun shade in the hottest part of the summer so that we’ll be able to extend our growing season and provide an optimal environment for our crops.

For further updates on our community gardens and other projects, check out the Manzanita Village Gaia’s Food Forest Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Manzanita-Village-Gaias-Food-Forest/143045212424353 .

Hoop Garden

Our new hoop garden is well on its way to completion.

Goats for Fire Fuels Mitigation

 

In the spring of 2011 Manzanita Village was awarded a grant by the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors for fire fuels mitigation in our ravine. This grant is part of a larger effort that eventuated in the community being awarded a FireWise Community designation by FireWise/USA (http://www.firewise.org/). Becoming a FireWise community is an important effort in western and southwestern areas that are yearly ravaged by wildfires. Just this year the nation watched as 538,049 acres were destroyed by the Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona.

A major portion of our fire fuels mitigation grant was earmarked to hire a local herd of goats to help clear the four acres closest to community homes. Using goats instead human beings for this initial clearing effort means we not only can clear away fire fuels and underbrush but also enhance groundwater penetration and ultimately provide a healthier environment fro both the plants and animals living in this area.

After a period of preparation on the part of both the Village and the staff of Settler Valley Ranch, including the installation of a solar-powered electric fence to protect the goats from our resident coyotes and other predators, a herd of 25 goats, three males and 22 females, was delivered on Sunday October 23, 2011. It will take this herd about 40 days to clear the designated area.