Manure to Resource

Developing a Sustainable Strategy for Managing Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary’s Horse Manure

Spring 2012

Eric Klem Laurel Rose Leann DiPaola Introduction

As students at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability, we’re committed to addressing the Sustainability issues our community faces. We’re honored to collaborate with Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary; the permanent home for thirty rescued horses. This registered nonprofit is run by Jim Gath, a passionate man with righteous intentions.

The central issue that Jim faces is disposing of the horse manure. With thirty horses at the sanctuary, manure must be removed twice a month. In this process, someone is hired to remove the manure and another individual is paid for the use of his wash. The wash that’s currently being used is reaching maximum capacity. In the past, Jim had the manure taken to the landfill. This process proved to be too costly. As the number of horses increased, the amount of manure increased. numbers here?? As a more cost effective solution, Jim turned to his friend’s wash nearby. The use of the wash was a cheaper, though not permanent solution.

In the present state, there are many potential consequences of dumping manure into a wash. As far as environmental impacts, these include water and soil pollution, green house gas emissions, and threats to the natural ecosystem. The environmental aspects of the problem could lead to contaminated agriculture, climate change, and negative effects on human health. The linear system currently in place results in wasted resources. Horse manure could be used as a fertilizer or energy source, rather than a contributor to pollution.

Generic Problem Features

Adversity Present problem but mostly Cost is high Neighbours a future situation which is may be viewed negatively by Jim unhappy and the community Problem- Jim wants help from ASU Waste at large Solving Interest Lack of Capacity Lack of horses? Lack of resources Lack of Lack of social knowledge networking but there is potential Specific Sustainability Features

Life Harm to natural Greenhouse gases Air, water, and Threatening ecosystem  climate soil quality at risk change/health risks Long-Term Soil Wasting resources Wasting money Long-term contamination  could offset fossil  could use for operation agriculture fuels horses problems will always exist Urgent Change must If all horse manure Pollution and occur with everywhere is being methane current taken to landfills, the emissions can’t be solution wash issue is severe reversed will fill up Complex Lots of horses Must transport Must transport lots of manure manure which manure to wash takes up lots of requires money which emits GHG space & creates and disrupts a lot of GHG natural ecosystems Cross-Sectoral Economic  Jim Social  able to Environmental is losing money generate less public soil, air, and goods due to cost, water neighbors, and contamination human health as well as impacts contribution to climate change Cross Level Horses are Similar problems with Local impacts Global impact is everywhere manure exist include soil and the effect on GHG worldwide throughout the U.S. water and the rest of the contamination, as urban world well as health issues Place-Based Tierra Madre Unique because it’s a Permanent home One man operation Horse Sanctuary nonprofit, Arizona for horses so less and small land size and Jim Gath Climate dynamic/outside connections Contested Differing perspectives cost effective vs. sustainable

In order to solve the issues at Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary, we first began collecting data from Jim. With this information in mind, we commenced our research. Reaching out to other horse organizations in the Phoenix metropolitan area was also necessary for this project. We will proceed by creating a solution and proposing it to Jim Gath during the visioning session. At this time, we will begin to put the plan into action.

Gibsons Sustainability Principles

Socio-Ecological system integrity- continue nutrient cycle, replenish the earth, stop incorrect systems which are in place (runoff) strengthen ties between humans and nature, understanding of why we need to replenish, how we can go about it, what the benefits are. How can we “live within nature” Education field trips, local schools, spreading awareness, healthier ecosystem, reduction of synthetic fertilizers,

Livelihood sufficiency and opportunity- on a larger scale, keep waste, e-waste, poisons, toxins, etc from poverty stricken areas and people. Don’t dump waste away from richer areas and into poorer areas. Everyone has the right to decent life job creation and maintenance, no negative health effects derived from the process, participants treated ethically and paid fair wages, fair share, Jim should be getting his fair share, compost programs making a lot of money off of him

Intra-generational equity-keep the ground water clean, keep the nutrient cycle going, replenish the cycle of hay coming in…what is nourishing that hay when its being grown in the first place. The greenhouse gases of waste TM, Phoenix, Arizona, America and worldwide. Find the best and most efficient and effective usages for the waste specifically, horse manure, plastic, etc and also reduce consumption and waste as well. Everyone in the world has a right to enjoy a beautiful environment and a healthy earth to live on, not just those that can pay for that or afford that because of socioeconomic status, reducing runoff, pollutions, transportations, sustainable emissions, model for similar organizations, promoting equity and allowing everyone to have access to it.

Inter-generational equity – make sure that whats happening now isn’t compromising future generations, set example now so future resource instead of problem setting standard, nutrient content, reducing landfill use,

Resource maintenance and efficiency- instead of creating waste and greenhouse gases we should use it as a resource and create it into the nutrient cycle and keep it closed loop, reduces strain on the ecosystem, not just throwing it out, keeping it local, community would see direct benefits if dealing with them closed loop,

Socio-ecological civility and democratic governance- ensure that everyone involved has an understanding of where it needs to go, education, implementing systems within community that will benefit future generations, set example for rest of community/horse community. Putting it out there for everyone to see, getting people involved, increasing awareness about waste, knowledge about potential about waste,

Precaution and adaptation- no tradeoffs that would cause problems or damage to environment, not simply the easiest tradeoff,

Immediate and long term integration- not negative or unknown consequences for the future and wont end short term, make sure solutions are long term and not a quick fix.

Visioning

Visioning is important to Sustainability and this project for many reasons. Visioning is vital when assessing sustainability problems and solutions. To solve a problem within sustainability, we must look at all the possible issues that may arise; therefore the solution that is put into action will be one that will promote positive benefits for the society, the economy and the environment. Visioning is particularly important in this project because there are many details that need to be taken into consideration so we are able to find the best, long lasting solution for Jim, his horses and the Tierra Madre community.

Visioning is a conceptual future state that is desired for all stakeholders. A vision consist of assessing many different aspects such as the problem, the goals and desired aspects, discussing what is currently not being met by the current state and how these problems can be solved through teamwork and planning while trying to meet sustainability criteria as a guideline. The visioning process that Eric, Laurel and I have created encompasses all the sectors we want to see involved to create a broad vision for the future. We separated our visions into 3 different categories; in those categories are what we want to see being involved to create a sustainable solution for the horse manure problem that Tierra Madre faces. The categories are as follows:

1. Benefits for Jim Gath & Tierra Madre: • Spend less money • More space at Tierra Madre • Worry free for Jim & his workers (Eric) • More money coming in than going out • Easy, efficient, effective, sustainable solution • Benefiting all parties, Jim, Horses, Nursery…

2.Environment & Sustainability • Nutrient cycle replenishment • Horse manure=nutrients, use it! • Clean, environmentally safe • Self-sustaining-able to withstand • On site compost system • Use compost to grow • Have a local nursery take the manure to compost it • Manure pile gone

3. Community Involvement • Get donations • Strong volunteer network • Community project-(transparent process) horse community/actual neighborhood • Collaborations from businesses and everyone involved • System that possibly connects farmers to manure to farms that need manure for compost fertilizer to grow • Benefiting all parties-Jim, Horses, Nursery,etc…

Tierra Madre visioning process & results: After meeting with Jim and the volunteers at Tierra Madre, we have came to the conclusion that they want a solution that will not be costing them any extra time or money and that will use the manure as a resource while benefiting the surrounding atmosphere.

Our vision meets the sustainability criteria because we have thought creatively about ways to connect different sectors such as sustainability, socio-economic integrity for Tierra Madre and the surrounding community, resource maintenance and precautionary ideals that we hope can withstand for the future without any possible downfalls in the future state.

Final Vision: Our vision for Tierra Madre’s waste issue is beneficial for Jim and the farm, promotes community involvement and benefits the environment and will be long lasting in the future. Proposed Intervention

The sustainable solution for the horse manure problem at Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary was decided after a long process of researching and collecting data so that we were able to find a solution to the manure that followed sustainability guideline while eliminating tradeoffs and pleasing the staff at the horse farm. After the visioning session at Tierra Madre, we had a much deeper understanding of what our action plan needed to be. We needed to use this manure as a resource and add it into a closed loop system for the benefit of Tierra Madre and the environment.

The decision was to find a nursery that would take the manure and compost it so it can be used as soil or natural, healthy fertilizer in the future. We decided that we were also going to build and on site garden at Tierra Madre consisting of native plants to Arizona and some edible ones as well. The first step we took was to contact nurseries around the Phoenix area to see if they would be willing to take the manure from Tierra Madre. This was a pretty difficult task because most nurseries needed wood chips mixed within the manure pile because it helps to break it down faster for compost, or the nurseries did not have a large enough area or compost system for the amount of manure we would be sending. After a lot of phone calls and visits, we finally found Mountain State Nursery. Mountain State is located in Glendale and has over 200 acres of land and a large scale compost system specifically for horse manure. After receiving the confirmation that we could bring the manure there, we visited the nursery to check it out. We talked to a worker and he showed us the giant compost pile and explained how they turn it into rich soil. This gentleman told us that each time we brought them manure, we could pick up as much composted soil as we need to start our garden. This was a really awesome sustainable addition to the project because we were able to obtain free, previously composted soil.

Mountain State Nursery is going to be the place where Tierra Madre takes their manure permanently. We have built a garden on site using borrowed and donated materials. This garden will be filled with native Arizona plants such as cactus and aloe that we dug up from the Tierra Madre property, reusable of course! We then plan to keep planting edible plants, such as chilies in front of the garden. The water that these plants will need to grow will also be reused. The excess water from the horse bins that normally gets dumped into a wash will be used to water the edible plants.

Mountain State Nursery website: http://www.mswn.com/index2.htm

This intervention was successful, although there were some tradeoffs in meeting the vision. These tradeoffs developed in the category of Benefits for Jim Gath and Tierra Madre. Although we did find a location to permanently take the manure, regardless of quantity, Mountain State is not able to pick up the manure from Tierra Madre. However, Mountain State will donate as much composted soil as needed at Tierra Madre. This soil will be used to complete the garden projects at the horse sanctuary. There will be an edible vegetable garden that will provide the foods that could be used for various fundraisers. During the visioning session, one volunteer at Tierra Madre said she would love to see a garden and use the fresh foods to make “Tierra Madre Salsa.” Everyone loved this idea. Thus, despite the cost to pay someone to take the manure to Mountain State, the situation could bring in some money in the future.

In addition, Tierra Madre is already paying someone to take the manure to a wash. In terms of sustainability, paying someone to take it to a nursery is still a success. In terms of Environment and Sustainability, the intervention was also met. Using manure as compost is an ecologically sound method of removing it from Tierra Madre. The shift from the current state (dumping it at a wash) to the future state (composting) is an absolute transformation towards a sustainable future state. An important aspect to consider is the benefit of horse manure as a resource. Rather than dumping it as waste, it will be used to maintain a closed-loop cycle.

The final aspect of the visioning session was Community Involvement. Our efforts as Sustainability students at Arizona State University have helped to bring people together to focus on the future of the Tierra Madre community. Our work has brought awareness to sustainability ideas and action plans. Tierra Madre’s volunteers have been included in this process through their participation in the visioning session, as well as involvement with the garden projects.

The intervention meets all features of the sustainability criteria. First, with Benefits to Jim Gath and Tierra Madre, the economic aspect is assessed. Despite the tradeoffs, our solution creates a situation in which Tierra Madre could be reaching its goal of spending no money on disposing horse manure. This could be reached through the production of food from the gardens on site. Without the connection with Mountain State, Tierra Madre would not be receiving free composted soil to grow food.

The environment and society benefit from this intervention based on the efforts to secure a closed-loop system that benefits all stakeholders involved, while spreading sustainability awareness and knowledge within the entire Phoenix metropolitan area. By connecting with Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability, Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary is becoming well-known. Our role as interns solving this sustainability problem helps to bring attention to the space as not only a horse sanctuary, but a place for hands on sustainability education and action.

The success of the intervention will be monitored in order to assess the best future solution for Tierra Madre. We are certain that this intervention is the best option, however we have created a plan for tracking the progress. We will record the time it takes for the manure to reach Mountain State from Tierra Madre. We will also record how much money is required to pay the individual to take it there. Other data that is required includes amount of manure taken each time, amount of soil dropped off at Tierra Madre, how many seeds and plants we have gotten donated over time, and the yield from the garden. This information will either support or reject the economic situation for Jim Gath and Tierra Madre. In terms of the environment and community, we will follow up at Mountain State to ensure that the manure is being used for compost and we will track the increasing number of volunteers helping out with the garden or in general at Tierra Madre.

Conclusion

The results we have achieved at Tierra Madre have been exciting and fun to be a part of. The final results we have compiled have taken a long road, lots of hard work and research, and many hours spent at the sanctuary. The initial problem we faced of finding a “solution for the manure” actually branched off in a couple of directions and was therefore not actually one direct solution but rather a couple of solutions combined together. The first being transporting the majority of the manure from Tierra Madre to Mountain State Nursery where it will be composted and returned back to the earth cycle. The second part of that solution is in return for the raw manure; Mountain State will exchange freshly mixed plantable soil. We take that soil and build a garden on site at Tierra Madre. The garden is then watered from the excess containers of water used for the horses, which was being dumped unused into the wash. Additionally, all plants within the garden are native species and don’t require an excess amount of water, or a lot of time for maintenance as all Tierra Madre workers and volunteers are extremely busy. If additional soil is ever needed to refill the garden space or to expand, Mountain State is willing to donate more at any time in exchange for the raw manure.

Some of the future steps Tierra Madre should take in order to maintain the work we have done is keep the relationship with Mountain State going and positive. It is an important relationship because it allows Tierra Madre to have a place they know they can depend on which A. has enough room to accommodate all of the manure B. accepts the manure without any wood shavings which would cost Tierra Madre money to start using, and C. gladly exchanges raw manure in exchange for the plant ready soil they create from the processed compost. Another important step of maintenance is of course the garden itself. It is currently set up to not be very time consuming or hard to maintain, but it must be watered and cared for in an appropriate manner. Also, using the project which we have created for them at Tierra Madre, much like we did at Earth Day, to draw people in, and get other things to change. A possible video project, picture documentation and written documentation are in place for future projects of similar situations.

Overall, as a group we did a good job. Many obstacles not usually touched on in the classroom such as budgets, lack of man power, and a down economy affected many of our solutions and definitely changed the outcome. We spent a lot of time going back to the drawing board to find a solid sustainable solution for all stakeholders. In the end we did the best that we could with what we had as available resources and under tough circumstances. As a group, it appears that Jim Gath and all of the people from Tierra Madre were happy and satisfied with what we were able to provide as a solution for their manure. As the name of the project implies, from “manure to resource.” Appendix A Annotated Bibliography Link Citation (APA) Annotation http://www.azcentral.c Perera, S. (2012, January 28) Dog Students at ASU’s Polytechnic Campus are designing and building a om/community/gilbert/ Waste Digester won’t be a Light Show dog waste “digester” for a dog park in Gilbert which will generate articles/2012/01/25/20 The Arizona Republic electricity. The estimated cost of implementing the project is 120125gilbert-dog- $25,000. They have raised money from a variety of donors. This waste-digester- suggests that building a digester may be a feasible route and that energy.html students at ASU poly could help design and build one. The current project organizers should be contacted to find out: what is the daily waste capacity? How do the leftovers get used? Special hookup or permission to generate electricity or air pollution permits? Can the design be adapted to horse manure? http://www.lexisnexis.c Bauman, Margaret (April 10, 2009) A project under way with the Anchorage Soil and Water om.ezproxy1.lib.asu.ed Project aims to turn horse manure into Conservation District aims to help turn upward of 43,800 tons of u/hottopics/lnacademic rich compost annual barn wastes, most of it manure, into compost. If successful, /? the effort could potentially save horse owners alone thousands of shr=t&csi=169235&sr=H dollars a year. This article explains how farmers in Anchorage LEAD(Project+aims+to+t began composting horse manure and using it to grow. urn+horse+manure+int o+rich+compost) +and+date+is+April, +2009 http://www.themaneat The university has created a closed-loop recycling system to reuse Johnson, Turner (November, 29 2011) er.com/stories/2011/11 CDS's food waste in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint. CDS, Bradford Farms start new /29/cds-and-bradford- Campus Dining Services and the MU Bradford Farms Research and composting system farms-start-new- Extension Center have collaborated to create a new composting composting-system/ system. The new system is designed to lower MU's carbon footprint and more effectively manage waste materials. Called the Zero Carbon Footprint Vegetable and Compost Production System, it is a closed-loop system that will make use of the 250 tons of food waste produced by campus dining halls every year. The food will be taken to a new facility at Bradford Farms and mixed with old horse bedding, manure and sawdust. Once composted, the mixture will be used to grow vegetables that will be sold back to CDS.

http://www.equisearch. Pascoe, Elaine. (n.d.) Solve the Horse According to the author, composting it the best way to get rid of com/horses_care/solve- Manure Pile Problem EquiSearch the manure generated on horse farms. Composting is the-horse-manure-pile- environmentally sound and low cost. Large farms can compost problem/ large amounts of horse manure in windrows, which are long free- standing piles. Hauling horse manure somewhere else is another option, but it can be expensive. The article suggests contacting conservation and environmental groups in the area to see if there are alternatives they suggest. Possibly these groups could connect farm with farmers in need of manure or biomass facilities that generate energy. http://www.extension.o Davis J.G., Swinker A.M., Smith Crystal. This article exposes the benefits of composting horse manure. rg/pages/25674/horse- (2010, February 3) Horse Manure Composting reduces the manure volume by 50 percent. Certain manure-management Management Arizona Cooperative factors need to be taken into consideration when using horse Extension manure for compost--the carbon to nitrogen ratio, oxygen, moisture, and temperature. This article offers a lot of logistical information about what is really required to compost horse manure. It would be helpful to plug in the information gathered from Tierra Madre into these equations and models to know if what we’re working with can even be used for compost. http://www.pima.gov/d Elias R., Day A., Valadez R., Bronson S., In this article, the proper management of horses is examined. It eq/waste/pdf/manure.p Carroll R.J. (n.d.) reveals that “manure shall be disposed of by sanitary landfill, df PDEQ Good Neighbor Guide for Horse- incineration, or used as fertilizer in such a manner as to not create Keeping: insect breeding or a nuisance.” This helps us define our problem Manure Management and Regulatory as a sustainability issue because the manure is currently being Compliance Pima County Board of disposed of in a wash. It states that manure runoff can pollute Supervisors waterways and filter through the soil to contaminate groundwater in shallow aquifer areas. It also offers some information on composting. Compost piles should be turned at least every other day and protected with a tarp. Actively managed stall waste can be composted within one month; however, a static pile with no active management may tax six months to do years (larger piles) to compost. This information helps us assess what type of situation we have at Tierra Madre. http://web.ebscohost.c Romano, Paul. (January 1, 2006). Small Explains the problems horse manure can cause if it is not taken om.ezproxy1.lib.asu.ed scale composting of horse manure care of properly. Explains in details the methods of composting u/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfv mixed with wood shavings. horse manure with wood shavings and all the benefits it can have iewer?sid=46c1b245- for farmers and the environment. a98a-48da-b235- c5f5eed8dec3%40sessio nmgr113&vid=2&hid=1 13 http://equineextension. Card, A.B. (2002, July). This website talks about using worms or “vermicomposting” as a colostate.edu/files/artic Vermicomposting Horse Manure. way to turn horse manure into compost. Talks about the pros and les/Vermicomposting.p retrieved February 22, 2012, from cons of using worms vs not using them. Gives important insight df into “why or why not would vermicomposting be a good match for the situation you are currently in.” For example taking into account, compost amount, regions temperature, amount of time available etc. Don’t Landfill It! Goldstein, N. (2003). University makes This article describes a project started by students at Penn State strides with food residuals University. Their compost system includes agricultural waste and composting. BioCycle, 44(8), 22-26. manure, as well as both pre- and post-consumer waste. It would be beneficial to refer to the result of this project to assess if the manure had a positive or negative impact on the overall success of the compost.

Don’t Landfill It Butler, J (2009, November, 5). Down This article gives a thorough break down of composting in all to Earth: An illustration of life cycle aspects. From different types, to emissions levels, different inventory good practice with reference materials etc. It would be an effective tool for us to refer back to to the production of soil conditioning when trying to decide which type of composting (if we choose this compost. retrieved February 22 2012, route) based upon multiple factors such as time, type of from Resources, Conservation, and composting, area needed, emissions released. Recycling Web Don’t Landfill It! Jones, B.J. (1992, March). Composting A community partnership for composting is discussed in this food and vegetative waste. BioCycle, article. We haven’t discussed something like this yet, but I feel as 33(3), 69-71. though we could think about this type of idea. This project created local growth, reduced reliance on chemical fertilizers, diverted waste, and lowered emissions--which are all goals we’ve mentioned in our work this semester. Another beneficial aspect of this project is it’s impact on transportation fees and emissions. Implementing something like this in the area would benefit the community greatly--it would just be a lot of networking and reaching out to the community to see if this is something that would be of interest. Don’t Landfill It Center for Ecological Technology This plan talks about the logistics of bringing together different (CET). (2003) Composting in stakeholders, and getting them to work together within the Restaurants and Schools (Adobe municipality to achieve the common goal of composting. I think Reader) we could utilize this paper if we decide to make an attempt at bringing together several facilities with horse manure as a problem to create a synergy amongst several facilities to solve the problem. http://www.mda.state. Astle, Norman. (n.d.) Manure This program was created to assist in covering the costs of md.us/resource_conser Transport Program Maryland transporting excess manure off of farms--especially for those who vation/financial_assista Department of Agriculture have inadequate land to spread their manure. They can receive nce/manure_managem cost assistance per ton for transporting the manure to other farms ent/index.php or facilities. There is also a Manure Matching Service that connects farmers with excess manure with nearby farmers who could use manure as a nutrient source. The goal of this project is to reduce negative impacts from animal waste runoff, which is exactly what we’re dealing with at Tierra Madre. This is really a networking project that connects farmers. This is a great idea that would benefit Tierra Madre and the community. Don’t Landfill It! By: Lynch, D. H.; Voroney, R. P.; This article discusses the physical properties of soil and organic Warman, P. R.. Compost Science & waste matter specifically looking at what happens when you add Utilization, Autumn2005, Vol. 13 Issue manure to the compost. This article could be very beneficial to us if 4, p252-261, 10p we are looking to integrate a compost system at Tierra Madre. This aticle is very science based and involves a lot of information about chemical compounds and the differences in cow & horse manure and how to turn it into proper fertilizer to gain a high yield. Appendix B Letter from Jim Grath

A 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization EIN 61-1544459 DLN 17053346022027 www.tierramadrehorsesanctuary.org

Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary always takes pains to try to live up to its name. ‘Tierra Madre’ means ‘Mother Earth’ in Spanish. We strive to keep our surroundings as natural as possible & to let all of Mother Earth’s children live the lives they were given. We shun the use of chemicals in every way possible.

One of our great challenges, however, is disposing of our horses’ manure. And, that challenge has been quite daunting, considering that we generate nearly five tons of it each & every week. Many horse facilities simply send it to a waste disposal site. The two downsides to that are the expense & the fact that we don’t wish to add to an already-polluted landfill.

In the fall of last year, I contacted Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability to see if it might be interested in helping to develop a solution to our problem. The answer was ‘yes’. Three students, in particular, decided to take on the project: Leann DiPaolo, Laurel Rose & Eric Klem.

They came out to the ranch, had a tour of it, & we had a wide-ranging discussion about the possible uses for horse manure. One of the problems with it, as a fertilizer, is that in its natural state it is fairly acidic, especially for use with vegetables. Once it has composted down, however, it can be used in some cases. That wasn’t really a totally viable solution, however, as we have no room or desire to store it on the property for that length of time.

The team then went off to study the possible uses for manure as a fertilizer & found that some florists & horticulturists in the Phoenix area do, indeed, use horse manure as fertilizer for growing their flowers. Further, the team had a number of samples tested to determine the proper ‘age’ that manure has to compost before it can be used effectively with fruits & vegetables & other native flora & fauna.

Once it was determined that some floral growers use horse manure as fertilizer, the team explored various businesses in the Phoenix area to see if they might be interested in using our manure – for free – on their growing plants. Eventually, such an enterprise was found & the team negotiated a system that would ensure our being able to deliver the manure to the grower/florist.

Needless to say, we’re thrilled with that aspect of the team’s work. Because, not only did the members do their homework on the proper use of horse manure for fertilizer, but they were enterprising enough to find an actual facility that wishes to use it.

The second half of their mission – to determine if composted manure can be used to fertilize indigenous floral & fauna, as well as fruits & vegetables – is still a work in progress. One in which we’re all excited to see how the project fares. The team has set up a garden area here on the ranch, measuring approximately 300 square feet. They transplanted several cacti & other desert-dwelling plants from the desert, itself, into their new garden. Naturally, they have begun to fertilize the transplanted items with composted manure. Our shared objective is to determine if the addition of the fertilizer will cause increased growth or health within the transplanted flora & fauna. Though it will take some time to prove one way or the other, our hope is that it will make a difference. If it does, we all envision making desert-dwellers aware – through public relations & other means - of the benefits of using composted horse manure to help their plants thrive.

We are still attempting to determine if we wish to add fruits &/or vegetables to our garden. The problem we have here is that there is an overabundance of rabbits & prairie dogs & birds – animals that just love to eat growing produce. And, to fully protect any produce, we would have to build a fence around the area, complete with a cover over the top of the structure. Further, growing produce needs plenty of tender loving care & we’re not certain that those of us who live at the ranch are prepared to take on such a task. Time will tell &, with the growing season in the Arizona desert being nearly year-round, we don’t see the need to make a rush to judgment on that aspect of the project just yet.

On a personal note, the team of Leann & Laurel & Eric has been a joy to work with. To their credit, they came to the complete understanding – early on – that Tierra Madre’s situation wasn’t an academic one. Far from it. We are faced with real-life, real- time challenges that need to be met to keep the sanctuary running smoothly & efficiently. Every penny we save is another penny that we use to help care for our horses.

And the team of Leann & Laurel & Eric responded to those challenges immediately, with an entrepreneurial spirit & with an eye on helping us with our problems.

And the Horses of Tierra Madre - & those who care for them – are very fortunate that our mutual paths have crossed.