Santa Fe gets ready for Earth Day

City, county, local group kick off planting, cleanup events Saturday

The city of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County are gearing up for Earth Day with a number of events tied to sprucing up the local environment.

The events kick off Saturday with tree-plantings, citywide cleanups and a free trash dump.

The planting events will begin Saturday at the Pojoaque Recreation Complex, followed by the San Ysidro Crossing of the Santa Fe River on April 24, the Hondo Fire Station on May 1, the Edgewood Senior Center on May 8 and the Max Coll Community Center in Eldorado on May 15.

Participants will be able to plant drought-tolerant and pollinator-friendly plants and native trees at each location. They are encouraged to adopt a specific patch in honor of a relative, friend or community leader, which they will be expected to maintain. In exchange, the county will erect signage and provide dedication paperwork to officially designate the patch in the designee’s honor.

Face masks are required, and residents must register for a specific time block at santafecountynm.gov/earthday.

The Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency is getting in on the festivities by hosting a free trash day at the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station and the Caja de Rio Landfill for Santa Fe County residents from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Saturday.

Customers are limited to one load and two people per vehicle, and are required to wear a face mask.

In addition, Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, a nonprofit volunteer program that partners with the city to promote litter awareness and prevention programs, is holding its annual spring cleanup Saturday as part of the national Great American Cleanup.

Residents can collect gloves, bags and T-shirts in preparation for the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Keep Santa Fe Beautiful offices, 1142 Siler Road. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, participants are required to preregister at keepsantafebeautiful.org.