Viva Verde Stories

Do you want to hear more about how people are incorporating sustainability principles into their lives, homes and businesses? Viva Verde will bring you stories from the field, so you can learn from your neighbors and be inspired to make changes yourself to save resources, energy and money and live more lightly on the planet.

Spotlight: Viva Verde Advertiser

Lone Mountain Natives: Landscaping with a Mission

Having evolved from a restoration project at Jose Barrios Elementary School where Mark Cantrell teaches, it was no surprise that Lone Mountain Natives nursery developed a mission beyond just selling plants. As co-owner with his wife, Tricia Hurley, Mark wants to change our thinking about our relationship to landscape, encouraging us to plant natives that have evolved to thrive in our soil and climate, are efficient resource users, and enhance the diversity of the land we are a part of. “Other than for growing food, why plant anything else? Natives are beautiful and they serve multiple purposes in building healthy ecosystems. We must take an active role in enhancing the land we interact with,” explains Cantrell.

In an hour-long presentation in a jam-packed conference room at the June Viva Verde Expo, Cantrell discussed how to restore health in our relationship to the land through natural systems landscaping. Attendees were treated to a valuable primer on techniques for building a landscape that accommodates both human activity and habitat, as well as the native plants that provide the best food, shelter and reproduction for wildlife. Lone Mountain Natives’ handouts and how-to guides are a must as you get a jumpstart during the winter on next year’s planting (see Lone Mountain Resources below).

For Cantrell and Hurley, Lone Mountain Natives is much more than growing and selling plants for income. “We do this because we want to share with people our love for and knowledge of native plants and help support our community in restoring native health and native habitat to our land. Viva Verde provided us with the opportunity to get this message out to more people and educate them on the critical importance of native plant communities.”

Lone Mountain Natives is a Viva Verde advertiser and was a participant in Viva Verde Expo 2009. The nursery sells plants at the Silver City Farmers Market from May through October. They welcome visitors by appointment only to their nursery. Call 538.8078 to set up a time. They are also available for landscape consultations.

Lone Mountain Natives Resources:
"Creating a Wild Yard"
"Check Dams"
"Mulch Basins"
"Terraces"

Silver City’s Electric Vehicles Exceeding Expectations!

Ves Grimes, Meter Foreman with the Town’s Meter Department, with his staff (Danny Ortiz, Manny Orosco, Grimes; Chris McNeil not pictured) in front of two Miles electric trucks used to read water meters throughout Silver City. “We’re real proud of these vehicles. They have exceeded our expectations,” glowed Grimes. Going about 30 miles per charge, each vehicle uses about 5 – 6 kWh of electricity per day costing about $1 a day to run both vehicles. The town is saving as much as 480 gallons of gasoline per month, since now the four department pickup trucks only need to be tanked up once every other week. Each vehicle prevents over 12,000 pounds of annual tailpipe emissions for every gas powered vehicle replaced. Great job Silver City and the Metering Department for demonstrating how to improve efficiency in town operations, save money, and protect our environment!

Ves Grimes, Meter Foreman with the Town’s Meter Department, with his staff Danny Ortiz, Manny Orosco, Grimes; Chris McNeil not pictured.
One of two Miles electric trucks used to read water meters throughout Silver City
Battery used to power the electric vehicle sits under the driver’s front seat.