CALCP will again return to Riverside Cemetery on Thursday, April 22, 2010 for a work day at this historic cemetery.  Plans this year include removing more dead trees, trimming live trees, seeding Buffalo grass and blue Gamma grass in 5 additional sections of the cemetery, working on raised beds to create a Plant Select demonstration garden with plants well suited to very dry conditions, and developing a section that will raise specialty iris bulbs which will be for sale in the future.  To volunteer or to donate funds to help with seed costs, contact the office.  Watch this site for results and photos soon after our event.

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CALCP participated in our first Day of Service on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at the Riverside Cemetery—the oldest cemetery in Denver located at 5201 Brighton Blvd, Denver.  This cemetery had its water supply cut off during the drought of 2003 and has had no outdoor supplemental water available since then.  Their board of directors developed a plan for a sustainable landscape with the help of Ray Daugherty, instructor at Front Range Community College.  The plan called for 13 small plots of native grasses and wildflower mixes.

On the Day of Service dead trees were felled and chipped, live trees were pruned, and 13 test plots were aerated, fertilized, raked and seeded with different mixes of seed. Hand watering will get the seeds germinated and help to get the plants established.  CALCP hopes to make this a long term project with the staff at the cemetery once it is determined which mixes of seed do best in their sandy soil with no supplemental water.

The seeds for the project were donated by Arkansas Valley Seed, Sharp Brothers Seed, Western Native Seed Co, High Country Gardens, Pawnee Buttes Seed Co, and Beauty Beyond Belief.  Organic fertilizer for the whole project was donated by Alpha One, Inc. Helena Chemical Co donated week killer, while Chem Way and John Deere Landscapes donated cash to be used for the signage installed. 

Volunteers from Cyn Mar, Fertek, Inc., Green Mountain Lawn Care, Jim’s Pride Landscaping, and 3 branches of Davey Tree Expert Company donated their time and equipment.

Stay tuned for progress on the development of seeds in the test plots and the cemetery project.

( Click on photos for detail)