LANDSCAPE
The cultivated world of Sand River
THE GREEN SCREEN 2021The Green Screen is in fond memory of Fran Hunter who lived at Sand River from 2012 to 2019. Fran was a published author and poet with a sly wit and quiet, generous nature. This pollinator-friendly native-habitat project was funded by Fran's family and is the vision of Mary Powell. Its implementation, which includes the new access path and compost bins, is made possible by the good work of many skillful helping hands—those of Eleonor Hellman, Mary Powell and Angela Werneke of the Landscape Team, as well as residents Elaine Cheesman, Frank Clyde, Jenny Wages, Joany Raina, Marvel Clyde, Sandy King, and Tom Deardorff.
Once established, the Green Screen will act as a natural barrier to screen eventual development across the arroyo as well as separate community-use area from the public access trail along the arroyo's edge. Additionally, it will provide all important habitat for carbon capture, cooling of ambient temperatures by mitigating the warming effects of the climate crisis, as well as food and shelter for pollinators and wildlife. Our hope is that the Green Screen will be a living memorial to Fran and our community value of sustainability for many generations to come. 
Strawbale wick in the west ditch
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SAND RIVER HABITAT, FALL 2020Here's a taste of our Sand River landscape in autumn. The images were taken over two afternoons, starting just after our HALLOWEEN OUTDOOR CLEANUP and ending not long before a drastic temperature drop and major winter storm arrived very early the third day.
Sand River takes a sustainable, pollinator-friendly approach in our relationship to the natural living world. We "leave the leaves" to provide winter mulch for the garden and habitat for birds and wildlife, as well as to protect pollinators and other beneficial insects.* Consequently, our autumn cleanup focuses on tending and tidying our compost operation, gathering enough leaves for the compost, and watering trees in this time of drought. *For more information, see https://xerces.org/blog/leave-the-leaves WEST DITCH PROJECT, 2018Jimmy Baca works closely with Sand River's Landscape Team, fulfilling an essential role in improving and maintaining our landscape. He appears here in the west drainage, where he recently completed an upgrade by embedding straw bale wicks into the ditch to slow, sink, and spread water flow during a rain.
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