DAILY LOBO new mexico
October 11, 2010
Safari in the sky see page 2
PEACEFUL PITCH
friday
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Fiesta valet facilitates
cyclists by Andrew Lyman alyman@unm.edu
Junfu Han / Daily Lobo Adam Tirre waits for his brother to finish work in the Aggies Memorial Stadium after the Rio Grande Rivalry game on Saturday. See back page for coverage.
Campus gardens continue to flourish by Chelsea Erven cerven@unm.edu
Lobo Gardens event hosted an open house for its RED garden Sunday to celebrate the ongoing success of the program. Trishae Almaraz, event organizer, said the open house was designed to show people how community gardens can be used on campus. “We wanted to create a time and place for people to come experience the gardens because a lot of people don’t know about them,” she said. “We also wanted to raise awareness about community gardens and what effect they can have on the campus and in the community.” The Lobo Gardens class began as a small, disorganized movement on campus several years ago, student Travis McKenzie said. Tema Milstein, who teaches the courses, said the program has since grown and now consists of four courses. “This is chance to see how interdisciplinary and how applicable gardens are to all of our lives and all our learning,” Milstein said. “From a communication standpoint, culture and nature intersect in communication ... and I think that having communication and journalism students elbow deep in these gardens has truly been transformative.” The gardens were ideal for students to apply what they learn, said
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
issue 36
Dan Young, director of the Research Service Learning Program. “What is knowledge for? Knowledge unused is like money unspent,” he said. “The knowledge that these students have been developing is knowledge that can be taken out into the community and applied.” The Sunday event began with a curandero, a traditional folk healer, blessing the RED (Real Estate Development building) garden. It included speeches from prominent Lobo Gardens contributors about the history and future success of community garden initiatives. Mary Vosevich, director of the UNM Physical Plant, said the success of the gardens is evident. “I have to report back to the president about sustainability on campus, and what better way to do sustainability than to connect it to the students?” she said. Bertha Gomez, an administrative assistant for Real Estate Operations, said she enjoys having the garden in the department’s backyard. “I’m just so pleased that it’s here and that this is really happening,” she said. McKenzie said the Lobo Gardens program has will continue to flourish. “Lobo Gardens is just sprouting, flowering and blossoming,” he said. Lobo Gardens has planted community gardens in the Hokona courtyard and in the backyard of UNM Real Estate Operations.
Emma Difani / Daily Lobo Andrew Marcum, who taught the first Lobo Gardens class in Spring 2010, plays parachute at the Lobo Gardens Open House on Sunday as a potted onion plant sticks out of his backpack.
Three goals in six minutes
Hate crime charges
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While some balloon fiesta attendees may have been stuck in traffic, others were using another travel option. Hundreds of people used bike trails to ride to the fiesta, event officials said. Elaine Nelson, the balloon fiesta transportation manager, said BikeABQ offered a free valet service for all cyclists. Riders left their bikes in a secure spot while they attended the event, which ended Sunday. She said she was trying to emulate other bike valet services she had seen. “I saw a picture of another bike valet and started looking for a space to use around the park,” she said. “They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery.” Bikes were stored on a closedoff section of the bike path that runs behind the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, Nelson said. BikeABQ is looking for a new spot for next year because some bicyclists were unhappy that part of the bike path was closed, she said. Cyclist Angela Gieri said she rode from her home near Tramway Boulevard. “Riding in is much more convenient,” Gieri said. BikeABQ president Craig Degenhardt said volunteers staffed the valet service, as well as the New Mexico Touring Society. He said that before the bike valet, riders were not allowed to bring their bikes in and were told not to lock them up along the fences. Degenhardt said nearly 300 bikes were stored for each balloon fiesta event. “We are here any time there is an event for the balloon fiesta,” Degenhardt said. “There are some crew members who get here at 2:30 (p.m.), and we let them lock up their bikes before we get here.” Degenhardt said cyclists were also given free bike maps, event T-shirts, flat-tire repair kits and reflective vests. “We used the tip money we received to purchase vests for riders who had to ride in the dark and could not be seen,” he said. Dave Rankin said he drove to the El Pueblo Railrunner station and rode his bike from there. He said he plans to keep using it as long as it’s available. “From the train station, it only takes me about 15 minutes to ride in,” he said. “As long as they keep doing this, I’ll be here.”
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